


Flesh Without Blood

by DarthGlitter



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Blood and Gore, Canon - Book & Movie Combination, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Training, Graphic Description, Jedi, Necromancy, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Resistance, Sith, Sith magic, Slow Burn, Some Fluff, Some Humor, Space Battles, Timeline changes, Torture, War, Warnings May Change, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-10-09
Packaged: 2019-03-17 02:07:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 48,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13649220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthGlitter/pseuds/DarthGlitter
Summary: Darkness rises and light to meet it.Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?*Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi*Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom*Warnings and rating will change by chapter.  Check author's notes for this.





	1. Submission

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.  
> Chapter Warnings: A swear word, a fighting sequence, and depictions of blood apply.
> 
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourge it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

 

 

"I've been seeing all, I've been seeing your soul

Give me things that I wanted to know

Tell me things that you've done

I've been feeling old, I've been feeling cold

You're the heat that I know

Listen, you are my sun"

 _Drop the Game_ \- Flume & Chet Faker

 

 

* * *

 

 

Darkness.

A never-ending void that light couldn’t hope to pierce.  Every inch of that darkness consumed Kylo Ren until he and the darkness became one.  All sources of light were cut off from the room he occupied creating a starless void of inky black.  Kylo firmly planted his feet on the ground to center himself.  Muscles tensed and rippled under his practice clothes anticipating the first movement.  He tightened his grip on the inactivated lightsaber in his right hand and his finger twitched above the button that would ignite the crimson blade.

_Inhale. Exhale._

The Force within him began to pulse.

_Inhale._

It expanded and encompassed his body; it reached into the empty void.

_Exhale._

Red lines formed in his mind, tracing the walls of the room, and of shapes moving toward him in a predatory formation.

_Inhale._

Like a map The Force blazed to life revealing the path before him.

_Exhale._

Kylo Ren didn’t need his eyes to see.

The lightsaber came to life and illuminated the darkness with blood soaked fervor.  It crackled and spat like blood spraying from a newly mutilated victim.  Kylo was a beacon in the darkness; the saber a lighthouse for the mechanical stalkers.  There was no fear as Kylo stepped and jabbed forward connecting with metal and wire.  The Force buzzed inside and all around him.  Move left.  Swing down.  Kick out.  His body moved with speed and grace, dodging, turning, spinning.  The whiz of the saber and the roar of obliterated machinery filled his ears.  Kylo Ren lost himself to the blackness and let the rage take over.  The Force moved his body with calculated purpose and precision.  Kylo let out a roar as he heaved the lightsaber in a wide ark and sliced through metal.  Sparks fell around him like rain on fire, extinguishing themselves as they connected with the ground.  Kylo Ren pushed on in wide turns and strokes, not letting up until every red lined mechanical enemy faded.  Eventually the red lines became less and less.  With every connection the lightsaber made a red line sputter and disappear from view.  One by one they fell away until there was nothing left but darkness.

He landed into a low crouch after ripping through his final enemy.  The house lights came up.  All around him twisted metal from battle droids littered the floor.  Smoke rose from a few of them and many sparked from destroyed circuits.  Yet none moved.  Sweat dripped down Kylo’s face and splashed onto the floor.  He took no notice.  The white hot rage inside him began to subside.  It slowly sunk away as if melting from his flesh and onto the floor in a great puddle.  The adrenaline began to dissipate and Kylo Ren felt another energy inside him.  He turned and felt a sharp pain shoot up his right side.  _Fuck._   Kylo reached around and felt an opening in his tunic.  He brought his hand around and saw it covered in red.  He grunted and holstered his saber.  With a swift motion he undid his belt and brought the tunic over his head.  He dropped it to the floor and began to examine a wound one of the practice droids had managed to sneak in.  Right above the top of his pants was an oozing gash leaking a small, yet consistent, stream of blood.    Kylo probed the wound checking to see how deep it went.  The pain ignited with a new intensity as he pushed on the opening of the wound.  Not deep, but it would leave a scar.  Scars should be reserved for battle and not simple scraps of metal.  Kylo cursed himself and began to pull the tunic back over his head.

“Master Ren”, a firm voice called out in the silence.

Kylo Ren shot around to look at the intruder.  An impeccably dressed captain stood at attention while his companion, a storm trooper, stood off to the side.  Kylo grunted: an invitation to speak.

“The Supreme Leader requests your presence in his throne room”.  The captain snuck a quick glance up at Kylo before reverting his eyes back down to the floor.

“Let him know I’ll be there shortly”, Kylo replied curtly.  The captain snapped to attention, clicking his heels together, and placed a fist over his heart.  He gave a slight bow before taking off with the storm trooper following close on his heels.

Typically, after a round in the practice room Kylo Ren would return to his quarters, take a hot shower, and rest until pressed for his evening duties.  Supreme Leader didn’t call on Ren often, and certainly never called for him after a session.  Could it be a mission?  Maybe some new intelligence on the Resistance?  Kylo rubbed his neck and the thoughts agitated him.  Snoke’s mind had always been closed off to him. His master never lets his guard down around his apprentice.  Kylo tried to penetrate Snoke’s consciousness and he always failed.  Snoke, however, could reach into Kylo’s mind without much effort, but he could never read Kylo’s exact thoughts.  Just impressions.  Instincts.  He had learned early to hide his true intentions from his master for fear of retribution.

Kylo Ren’s fear of Snoke didn’t overshadow his hatred for his Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.  No matter the challenges Kylo would face with Snoke, it wouldn’t overshadow what Skywalker had done to him.  The searing hatred within him began to stir at the thought of his old teacher.  Kylo shook the idea from his head before storming from the practice room with the remnants of anger seething within him.

 

* * *

 

The MedBay patched him up quickly and Kylo had just enough time to cleanse himself before heading towards the throne room.  Supreme Leader’s patience wasn’t everlasting and Kylo knew he was pressed for time.  When Supreme Leader gave orders they were to be carried out immediately and with swiftness.  His master disliked idleness and he hated failure even more.  The soles of Kylo’s boots squeaked as he made his way through the halls. His presence created an invisible shield around him where anyone coming across his path would stop abruptly or veer in the opposite direction.  It made his walk go by rather quickly. So quickly that Kylo became uneasy as he approached the elevator that would take him to the throne room.

The elevator doors opened and the sterile stainless steel punctured his nostrils.  The hiss of the doors from behind encased him as if in a cocoon.  It shot up abruptly making Kylo grunt as he sidestepped from the jostle.  He righted himself and smoothed out the creases of the clothes over his chest.  A low buzz singled his arrival and the doors opened to Snoke’s domain.

Before Kylo lay a black walkway that shimmered like obsidian.  It jutted forward and spanned out to encompass a half circular room lined with the praetorian guard and blood red fabric hanging from the ceiling.  In the middle of it all was a throne and in it sat Supreme Leader Snoke.  His body leaned to the left with chin resting in his open palm as if growing bored.  Kylo hurried down the walkway and stopped a few feet away from Snoke and bent down to one knee, head bowed and eyes to the floor in a show of submission.

“My faithful apprentice”, Snoke said lifting his head in attention.

“I’m here Master.  Forgive me for not coming sooner”, Kylo said.  Snoke waved his arm in a dismissive manner.

“I knew you were otherwise occupied.  I didn’t expect immediate response.”  Kylo remained silent, answering with only stiffness, and kept his eyes to the ground.

“You’re wounded”, Snoke said with an inquisitive demeanor.

“A practice droid jabbed me.  It’s nothing”, Kylo whispered.

“Humph” Snoke mused, adjusting his weight.  “Failure is something I don’t tolerate.  Yet failure can be our greatest teacher.”  Snoke leaned forward, eyes glued to Kylo.  “Don’t let it happen again” Snoke said with a slight snarl and upturned lip.

“Yes Supreme Leader”.

Snoke leaned back and his demeanor changed almost instantly, a smile spreading from ear to ear.  “Congratulations on your most recent mission.  My expectations were exceeded and your loyalty is noted.”

“Thank you Supreme Leader”.

“That is not why I brought you here”, Kylo dared to glance up at him, surprise showing slightly in his eyes.  Snoke drummed his fingers against the arm of the throne as if thinking.

“I know it weighed upon your mind”, Snoke mused.

“Many years ago, when you were a babe and unknown to me, I trained another”.  Kylo didn’t move from his spot.  He knew that it was possible Snoke had trained others.  He waited for him to continue.

“I see him in you.  Powerful.  Raw. Untamed.”  Snoke curled his hand into a fist.  “Unlike you, I believed him loyal and dedicated.  Devoted to The First Order.  Devoted to me.  I was mistaken”.  Kylo froze.  Snoke never admitted wrong doing, and if he did, it was only to tear others down for not fulfilling his expectations.  Kylo had found himself at the receiving end of this many times.

 “In my ignorance I let his violent nature go unchecked and in return I had to clean up an unfortunate mess”.  Snoke spat the last word out as if the mere thought was a violation.

“What do you suppose I did Lord Ren?”  Snoke inquired gesturing out toward Kylo.  Kylo didn’t know what to say.  He kept his head bowed and remained silent thinking that Snoke would continue.  A smile broke out across Snoke’s face and he leaned back to fully recline in his throne.

“I snuffed out that flame.”  Kylo glanced up.  An uneasy feeling started in his stomach and trailed up towards his throat.  Nervousness set in, and he swallowed back the stinging bile.  Snoke took a deep audible breath and turned his gaze off the side.  He turned his attention back to Kylo Ren after a few moments of silence.

“As we move to snap the neck of the Republic I envision a galaxy ruled with control.  Policed and enforced by the Sith.”  Snoke rose from his throne and began to descend the steps toward Kylo.

“I cannot do this alone.  When the galaxy is ours I will need loyal enforcers of immense power.  Your bloodline holds something truly special and I expect you to use that potential to the best of your ability”.   Kylo didn’t understand.  What was Snoke talking about?  His mind reeled at all the possibilities, but he didn’t have to think for long.  Snoke answered for him.

“One day I will no longer be The Supreme Leader and I must ensure that The First Order lives on”.  Snoke glided up to Kylo Ren and peered down at him.  Kylo remained still with his eyes to the floor.  He never imagined a First Order without Snoke.  In fact, Kylo hadn’t thought that far into the future.  He didn’t know how old Snoke was and how much longer he’d live.  Kylo also knew that Snoke wouldn’t abdicate the throne.  It wasn’t the Sith way to step aside.  Apprentice outmatched Master, and so the apprentice would become the Master.  It would cycle over and over, always two.  But did Snoke no longer wish to follow The Rule of Two, created by Darth Bane to scourge the world of unruly and disloyal Sith?  Kylo didn’t dare openly question Snoke.  His fists clench to keep himself from shaking.  Fear was the last thing he wanted to show to his master.

“When Skywalker dies, the Jedi will die.  When that happens the Sith will rise again.  Not with a Master, and an apprentice, but with more.  More masters, more apprentices.  We will rise like the Sith empires of old”.  Snoke threw his arms wide as he said this.  A gesture to envision a galaxy under a central ruling force.  Kylo Ren knew Snoke’s goal was to bring order to the galaxy.

“We can search the stars for force users, but loyalty comes within.  Loyalty starts with the creation of blood within what is already made.  You will do this for me.  You will create the loyalty that’ll take up this Order and carry it for millennia.”

Kylo Ren dared to glance up at Snoke towering above him, a wicked smile crossing his face.

“Rise up my apprentice.  Fulfill your destiny.”

 

* * *

 

Kylo Ren sat hunched, staring at his data pad.  The red light in the top left corner blinked off and on, indicating a received document.  The weight of Snoke’s order hit him like an avalanche after exiting the throne room.  He had collapsed to his hands and knees in the elevator, a piercing scream leaving his throat that rocked the descending capsule and shattered the overhead light.  A hoarse cry ended it and Kylo’s breathing became heavy and labored.  When he had made it to his quarters he saw his blinking data pad which ignited his anger.  The result was a fist sized hole in the wall.

The only light came from the stars outside his window and the blinking red of the data pad. His meeting with Snoke ended hours ago, but Kylo couldn’t seem to reach out and open up the document.  Everything he needed to know would be in there.  _Life won’t change too much,_ he thought.  This was just like any other mission.  Only, it would be his mission for the rest of his life.  Kylo reached out to the force, letting the familiar darkness spread through his veins.  It calmed him, and stilled his nerves.  He swallowed the apprehension.  Sith were not afraid of anything, only failure.  And failure was not an option.

Kylo reached out and grasped the data pad.  He opened the document that would be part of his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
> Tumblr: https://darthglitterfanfiction.tumblr.com/


	2. Seclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.  
> Chapter Warnings: None  
> Note: This chapter is a huge information dump, but it contains A LOT of important information that I wanted to establish right out of the gate.  
> Pronunciation (English Phonetic Spelling):  
> Maeve: [meɪv]  
> Eda: [idə]  
> Kracov: [krækɒv]  
> Crurenus: [krurenus]  
> Cinegard: [sɪngard]  
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourage it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

* * *

 

"All that you are

Is all that I need

Rising like the smoke

You linger on me

You got me so high

I can finally breath"

 _Show Me_ \- Alina Baraz & Galimatias

 

* * *

 

Nothing mattered to her as she watched the paint dry.  The insistent beeping of the data pad blinking red from the other side of the room didn’t matter.  The chirping every few minutes to remind to check it didn’t matter.  The growls in her stomach and the small bead of sweat moving along her inner arm didn’t matter.  The way her dress folded oddly in her lap leaving bare legs exposed to the cool room didn’t matter.  She even ignored the First Order TIE fighters moving just outside the window.  The only thing absorbing every ounce of concentration rested comfortably on a polished wooden easel.

Everything began as lines of color swirled in a vibrant dance across the canvas.  The dance spoke and she listened.  With every turn and swish of the brush her movements became more erratic.  The lines were dancers in a chaotic migration moving from place to place without destination.  The result left a light sheen of sweat on her brow, and a heaving chest.  Now, she sat in her folding studio chair glaring at her own self portrait.  The once dynamic lines ran into one another in a muddy mess, where no one color could be distinguished.  A shadow seemed to hover over the work and even the pair of eyes peering from the muddiness felt sheltered.  She stared at herself, and herself stared back.

Her existence lived inside the painting with stunning clarity.  Those eyes were hers, without doubt, but everything else remained in shadow.  She couldn’t have explained her life any differently.  Try as she might, she rarely discovered the answers to the questions she often asked.  Her questions were met with the same scoff and statement: be grateful.

_Be grateful they said._

_I am grateful. Grateful. ~~Grateful.~~_

_I am grateful for being pulled from the rubble._

_I am grateful for arms that saved me from destruction._

_I am grateful the terrifyingly scared face that held me were The Supreme Leader’s._

_I am grateful those arms belong to whom I call father._

He had called her Maeve and whispered the name to her with gentleness unknown to men like him.  His body encased her and her eyes stained his clothes with dirt and tears.  A mere child of two with no understanding of what had transpired except that his arms were not her mothers.  Maeve could hardly recall her mother’s face.  Her real father she didn’t recall at all.  Those memories are gone and all Maeve remembers are the memories on the _Supremacy_.

At a young age Maeve didn’t understand much about the protocol and rules placed upon her.  In the presence of others Maeve was to call Snoke by his official title “Supreme Leader” and yet, her childlike brain would slip and “father” would leave her lips.  A correction followed every slip up with a fain of compliance from her which would be immediately forgotten.  When others corrected her, they’d smack her on the bum or grab her wrists harshly while hissing the mistake in her face.  When little Maeve did it in front of Snoke he’d calmly remind her of the rules without anger, but not with a smile.  Patience and Snoke were not two words that went together, and yet, Maeve received endless patience from the man who'd crash a man’s skull without a second thought.

Not calling Snoke “father” in front of others was low on the list of things Maeve didn’t adhere to.  As a young girl she had broken every rule and boundary Snoke set with her.  He encouraged her to explore but not venture into dangerous areas.  To that, she’d hide in the hanger all day watching and absorbing everything she saw.  The pilots interested her the most with their shiny black uniforms.  Various ships dotted around the hanger and Maeve enjoyed it when they all went on daily practice runs.  She’d imagine herself behind one of those flying through the galaxy.  Within the hanger she saw moments where the stiffness of The First Order faded.  Out of shot from the prying eyes of the higher ups, storm troopers, pilots, and low rung personnel greeted each other warmly.  It was a comforting notion that not everyone aboard the _Supremacy_ had a rod shoved up their ass.  Maeve saw them breaking protocol and thought them to be like her.

Maeve enjoyed surprising people.  In the laundry Maeve would hide in whatever pile was accessible at that moment before popping up and sending the slave attendants into hysterics.  Startling Snoke was young Maeve’s most desired conquest.  She’d crawl into small spaces or wedge between walls.  The curtains were too obvious and often her outline would be noticed before she even attempted a scare.  One day, after repeated failures on her part, she decided to come at him from above.  Maeve created a crude pulley system and positioned herself over the path Snoke would take to his throne.  When Snoke passed under her Maeve pulled the release and dropped.  Snoke sidestepped and she landed on the floor with a loud _CRACK_.  The Praetorian Guard had been _furious_ about that one.  Snoke simply sighed at the sight of Maeve on the floor surrounded by fighters clad in crimson.  His only reply was asking how a mere five-year-old could sneak past his personal guard.  Not one answered and with that Snoke turned away, but not before Maeve caught a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  The Praetorian Guard never made a fuss after that and successfully thwarted every effort she made after.

Small traces of affection were all Maeve received from Snoke, and few of those could truly be called loving.  Carrying her from the rubble was the one and only time Snoke ever physically touched her.  He never hugged her, kissed her, sang to her, or did anything a dad would do.  The only thing he did encourage was her education, her curiosity, and thirst for knowledge.  Without his physical affection Maeve decided that she’d attain Snoke’s favor by diving into everything she did with absolute perfection.

Her tutors came in a daily rotation and she consumed everything with passion.  When they had her study the stars Maeve committed entire solar systems to memory.  Maeve memorized every plant, every star, every moon, every asteroid.  Any known place in the galaxy she cradled in her mind and kept for herself.  The knowledge of the galaxy lived within her and Maeve could tell it all.  She could identify plants and their uses, animals with their associated planet and climate, and she could identify any topography of the known planets.  She knew every Jedi, Sith, and politician that lived.  By age twelve Maeve could outwit even the smartest minds.

Her greatest achievement by this time was language.  She fluently spoke all the languages that a human voice box was capable of.  Those that were difficult or impossible didn’t stop her unrelenting need.  Maeve could translate those she could not speak.  All written languages were known to her, both current and extinct.  The focus Maeve put into understanding the languages of the galaxy took the greatest effort and that effort didn’t go unnoticed.  Snoke called on Maeve a few days after her twelfth birthday.  They sat together in a round room lined with floor to ceiling metal shelves stuffed to capacity.  He grilled her without rest for two days and two nights.  Maeve never faltered once.  When it was over Snoke did not smile and Maeve’s hope of acceptance from him started to fade.  As she moved to leave Snoke spoke to her.  “You mean more to me than you could ever know," he said.  Maeve’s spirits rose with his words, but, deep down, his coldness was wrong and she knew it.

 From then on Maeve and Snoke would sit together in the round metal room as he’d discuss the current politics of the galaxy.  She committed to memory the politicians of the Republic and what planets they belonged to.  Only when she recognized them did Snoke move on to each individual.  For there, Maeve listened as Snoke lectured on each one in great detail.  Their personal ambitions, who they worked for, who worked for them.  Were they pious?  Or were they submerged in the obscene?  Maeve openly asked questions without fear of retribution and Snoke answered every question evenly and clearly.  When she asked for something repeated, he’d repeat it until she could recall it.

At fourteen Snoke sent Maeve on her first trip to the Republic.  The Senate expected a tyrannical show of power.  They imagined imposing representatives and ugliness.  Instead, Maeve came before them as the First Order representative.  “She’s merely a girl!” they cried.  They brushed her off as insignificant.  They scoffed at who The First Order had sent to represent them.  Maeve simply smiled and took her seat knowing how ignorant they were to the situation.  After a week of her sitting in on Senate meetings, listening to their incessant wails and cries, had Maeve interrupted and proceeded to criticize and counter every person in the room until they all became silent.

When Maeve arrived back to _Supremacy_ Snoke was there to greet her as she exited her escort ship.  Without a prompt from him Maeve said, “they are all fools” and walked right past him.  Maeve never made another appearance and instead entrusted a body slave who sent her daily briefings.

Maeve fell back into routine without flare.  Daily lectures became unsatisfactory and Maeve pressed for changes.  Her time visiting The Republic made her painfully aware of how physically incapable she was at defending herself.  Maeve insisted, pleaded with Snoke to approve simple combat training.  “I would never allow harm to come to you," Snoke said to her.  Rarely did his voice change in octave, but this was a whispered warning, and Maeve didn’t bring it up with him again.  Instead, she bypassed him and did as her younger self would have done: break every rule and protocol.

Hand to hand combat progressed into specialized weapons.  She watched the endless videos of instruction on defense, assault, and war.  Maeve would seek out an empty training room, bring her videos with her, and repeat the movements until they were second nature.  One evening wrapped up in bed, Maeve came across a video file featuring a Jedi and Sith locked in combat.  Maeve replayed it over and over watching the swirling movement of the colorful blades.  The crimson double blade of the Sith fascinated her in its complexity.  The Jedi wielded a blue saber that reminded her of twinkling sapphires.  The blades whirled within her irises and she began to fantasize about holding one.  But those tools were out of reach and Maeve moved on.

Lurking around in the hanger and recruitment training sessions preoccupied her spare time.  Maeve watched the fresh faces of the young recruits all wearing finely pressed uniforms with heads forward in attention hoping to demand the notice of their instructor.  They listened to lectures and while Maeve would loiter unnoticed, their voices dulled her and she’d often curl up in an unoccupied TIE fighter cockpit.  The database Snoke authorized for her contained all the same information and she’d often backtrack and venture there to discover more.

During one of these lectures she watched as a commanding officer stood before a TIE fighter pointing at the different parts.  As she crept closer she realized he was identifying the inner technical parts as the electrical board was exposed.  Maeve hadn’t meant to stay too long but she realized that the commanding officer had misidentified a few parts.  By the time her brain recognized her movements she had walked right up to him.  He stared at her, mouth slightly open.  The recruits stared back, confused, heads tilted.  She realized then that only young men looked back at her.

“You’ve identified some parts wrong,” she stated. 

The officer stuttered over the words he tried to form.  She quickly held up her hand to silence him.  The man’s face turned a red as deep as the curtains in Snoke’s throne room.  Maeve turned over the electrical board in front of her and proceeded to correct his mistakes.  She took the entire thing apart and identified every bolt and wire before seamlessly putting it back together again.  When she looked back at the officer she realized, almost too late, that he was bringing his hand down on her.  Maeve ducked and sprinted off.  Shouts came from behind and a squad of stormtroopers flanked her, working to cut her off.

“Don’t harm her! I want to punish her myself!” came a roar and Maeve kicked her speed up a notch. 

A trooper dived for her and she kicked out at connected with his kneecap.  He grunted and stumbled, nothing that would cause him injury, but enough to stall a second.  A sea of uniformed recruits and stormtroopers were closing in quickly and Maeve was running out of places to go.  It was only a matter of moments before they were on her, but she didn’t have to worry for long.

A flash of red danced before her eyes as she tripped (on her own feet no less) and stumbled to the ground.  She looked up and realized the flash of red was The Praetorian Guard.  The recruits and troopers stopped abruptly, falling over each other in attempts to keep away from them.  One voice carried and burst through as the officer made his way to the front of the pact.  He eyed The Guard but didn’t seem fazed.

“What is this!  I demand to know why you’ve stopped our pursuit!  Who told you?  Who commanded this?  Who- “

“It was I,” said a voice tinged with venom.  Snoke emerged from a shadow of a TIE fighter and slowly positioned himself in front of The Guard.  The officer fell to his knees and the crowd behind him followed suit.

“Supreme Leader,” he blubbered, spittle flying from his mouth. 

Snoke towered over the man as if the officer was nothing more than an ant.  Snoke brought his hand up and wiggled his index finger in a “come here” gesture.  The officer crawled on his knees to The Supreme Leader visibly shaking.  When he looked up, tears stained the man’s face and a blotchy redness formed on his neck.  Snoke leaned down and with one fluid motion snapped the man’s neck.  The bones made a sound that split the air and silence followed.

The Praetorian Guard moved to create an opening in the middle and Snoke turned into it.  He walked up to Maeve and bent down reaching out his hand to her.  She rested her hand in his, small and childlike in comparison.  Snoke helped her up and looking directly into her eyes said, “I will never allow harm to come to you."

After that moment Maeve didn’t dare step too far out of line.  No one ever hindered her movements within the ship, but Maeve noticed the way people began to back away from her.  They pulled away from her, some with terror etched on their faces.  Maeve had never once felt isolated before, but now she was painfully aware of it.

A loud buzz slammed her back to reality.  She became painfully aware of her mature twenty-year-old body.  Rubbing the bridge of her nose and turning to the noise, she watched as the automatic door opened and in came her companion droid, RD-53.  RD-53 was a standard protocol droid supplemented with child rearing abilities.  At a young age, RD-53 attentively took care of Maeve while also providing social interaction.  Though Maeve grew older, RD-53’s programming remained the same.  Instead of sending RD-53 off for reprogramming, Maeve tried her hand at changing the hardwire.  She managed to address the child care issue, but ultimately Maeve couldn’t erase it, and RD-53 retained her original programming.  Though, RD-53 came out the other end with a heightened self-awareness and Maeve preferred it.

“ _Morning Mistress Kracov,"_ the droid buzzed as it swept around the room and started moving things all about.  Maeve heaved a big breath and turned to it.  RD-53 was a stunningly polished rose gold color, with human like appendages.  The slim metal neck held a smooth oval shaped head.  A black void cut through the middle and two moving lights, blue and white, moved along it like eyes.

“You call me that every morning and what do I always tell you," Maeve said.  The droid beeped in annoyance but did not answer.

“What do I tell you RD?”

“ _Mistress Kracov you know I’m not allowed,"_ RD-53 chirped.  Maeve slid from the chair and made her way to the wash room.  Calling back to the droid she said, “I may request a reprogram then."  She said it in jest and out of the corner of her eye she saw RD-53 sputter about almost recklessly.

“By the stars! RD calm down, you know I would never."  RD-53 stomped, if one could call the jerking movements stomping, and placed her arms on her hips in attitude.  Maeve crossed her arms and pushed her hip out.  A second pair of limbs, these hollow and far from human, appeared through openings in RD-53’s sides.  Those limbs then placed themselves into a stance of attitude.

“ _Mistress MAEVE Kracov I do not find this humorous.  Clean yourself up please, your nanny will be here soon."_ Maeve stuck her tongue out as the droid beeped something insulting before taking off to continue cleaning up.

Maeve entered the wash room, a large accommodating space that she knew few had the luxury of having.  Right inside was her vanity stocked with every beauty product she could think of from lip stains, blush, and scented oils.  An open walk-in closet stood to the vanity’s right and contained enough clothes that Maeve would never wear.  Farther in was a large marble sink with handles made of diamond.  Across from that was the stand along shower and tub which could comfortably fit ten people in them.  One wall contained a floor to ceiling mirror and the toilet was hidden discreetly behind a paneled sliding door.  Maeve removed her cloth hair band and let her curls tumble around her shoulders and down her back.  She passed the mirror before she made it to the tub and gazed at herself for a moment.

As a child she had never questioned her unique features, but as she grew up she developed a harsh awareness.  By no means did she believe herself ugly, but Maeve knew that some people were put off by a few things.  The first was her hair.  It grew like any other hair and had a natural soft curl, but the color was nothing one could consider normal for a human.  Maeve’s hair held the galaxy within it.  In certain lighting her hair was a mass of black and yet the faintest light could make it light up as if you were laying out in the middle of nowhere and staring up at a clear starry sky.  In brighter settings (and out in the daylight) her hair almost seemed alive. It moved with an unnatural alienness and the colors changed in an instant.  The beautiful creaminess of the stars mingled with charcoal black and vibrant hues of purple and blue.  One swish of her head and the colors would shift and change as if rotating a few degrees.  It was off-putting to many.  If she had to interact with women they’d often fawn over it and ask her how she managed it.  She didn’t do anything.  That’s how it grew from her head.

Maeve was painfully thin though her muscles were toned.  Some days she didn’t dare look at herself in the mirror in fear that she’d glance and see the ridges of her ribs or the vertebrae in her spine.  Her skin appeared creamy and slightly tanned, her hands small and fingers slim.  She moved with ease, her feet hardly making noise.  Though all of this paled in comparison to the one feature that would send people running and whispering.  Her eyes.  One eye to be exact.

The right eye was a soft gray like a storm cloud carrying rain that would simply release a cooling drizzle.  Her left eye though was an electric contrast.  It was a yellow red-rimmed glowing eye and a shrunken black pupil.  It frightened people.  As a child she ran around without fear of it, but as people took notice and whispered, her nanny insisted Maeve wear a contact over it.  In her young age she’d often forget to put it in, and it one unfortunate instance a stranger had lashed out at her screeching that she was a “creature of darkness”.  She wore the lens every day after that moment.  It wasn’t until she had turned eighteen that Maeve did away with the lens.  It itched and she hated it.  If she wore it longer than necessary, the yellow glow would begin to destroy the lens.  She went through a good many of them.

It had been hard at first to accept that people would stare.  The staring never bothered her but those stares became whispers, and those whispers turned into spitting words of venom, and stares of horror became stares of hatred.

“Why does my eye look different from my other one?” her four-year-old self had asked her nanny.  She had brushed her hair back and told her her eye made her special.

“But why?” she had whined.  “No one has eyes like mine."  Her nanny had sighed and cradled her.

“There are many who had your eyes my little darling."

“You mean one eye different from the other?” she asked.  Her nanny had kissed her forehead and shook her head.

“No darling, many have had that one color for both eyes.  Many powerful people.”  Maeve started to ask her for more but her nanny shushed her and told her no more talk of this.  It wasn’t until Maeve had come across the training videos and happened to open the file the showed a Jedi and Sith locked in combat.  She had paused and played it over and over.  A close up shot of the two of them spinning and turning and the Sith Lord moving into clear view.  There she saw what she had seen in the mirror all her life.

Maeve leaned into the mirror to examine it, as she did every morning.  It never changed.  She could hear RD-53 puttering around in the other room and Maeve, a little too aggressively, stormed to the control panel on the wall and jabbed her fingers until the tub began to fill and opera music filled the room.  Maeve dropped her wrap and stepped into the warm water.  She submerged fully and forgot.

* * *

 

When she emerged freshly cleaned and hair slightly damp, Eda, her nanny, was stationed at the eat in table next to the kitchenette.  Eda moved with confidence and grace as if each movement she made meant something.  Maeve silently watched her from the safety of the washroom doorway.  The mass of light brown hair was pulled back into a loose bun and small strands rimmed her face.  She had a tiny stature, like Maeve, but Eda looked as if a giant had lightly pushed her towards the ground condensing her down and out.  Today, Eda wore a simple standard cotton black dress with a gold belt around the middle.  Maeve saw the elegance in her simplicity and loved her for it.

Eda carefully placed plates of fruits, bread, jams, butter, freshly cooked bacon, and eggs out.  The smell greeted Maeve’s nostrils and her stomach instantly growled at her.  RD-53 moved back and forth, from one side of Eda’s to the other, in an anxious manner.  Eda looked up and greeted Maeve with a smile that could disperse the sourest of moods.  Maeve loved Eda above everything else in her life.  Eda was the one who Snoke had handed off Maeve to first.  Eda was the one who greeted her every morning and wished her goodnight.  Maeve had no mother, but in Eda, she could come pretty close.

“Morning Eda,” Maeve cooed approaching the table and plopping down in her favorite chair.  The legs were golden and bent in odd directions but they held up a mass of white fur, soft and comforting.  Maeve reached for the coffee thermos pouring out the steaming liquid into a white mug.  She added a bit of milk and stirred.  Bringing it up to her lips to take a sip, and finding it acceptable, set it down.  Eda sat beside her and began to dish up a plate while Maeve surveyed what she’d brought.

She grabbed for some slightly toasted bread and jam, a portion of eggs, a couple strips of bacon, and a large bowl of fruit.  Before Maeve had even taken a bite Eda cleared her throat.

“Did you take a look at the schedule I sent you for today?” she asked.  Maeve popped a round blush colored grape into her mouth.  She shrugged.  Eda narrowed her eyes at her.  In that moment her data-pad beeped and the little red light flashed admitting her guilt.  Mauve daintily brought her coffee to her lips and took a sip.  Eda rolled her eyes.

“And that is why I always bring a copy," Eda said reaching over and pulling a folder from her bag.  Eda handed over a small bunch of papers.  Maeve snatched it up.

“You’re kidding," Maeve said dropping the papers onto the table.  Eda shrugged.

“No. You’re not allowed to shrug and not answer.  I’m younger and immature therefore I can do that.  Someone has to be the adult.”

“ _You excel at giving complements,_ ” said RD-53 sarcastically.  Maeve groaned and brought the papers up again, flicking through them quickly.

“After breakfast were piling into a ship and taking off.  While we're there we also need to run a few errands for The Supreme Leader.  All diplomatic." 

“I don’t see why father cannot do this himself," Maeve said moving to the next page.  “He needs to get out more”.  Eda brought some juice up and took a sip before continuing, ignoring Maeve’s comment.

“I thought I was going to have to wake you up.  It’s early and I expected a struggle.”  Maeve regarded her.  She hadn’t slept at all but she didn’t want to tell Eda that.  Instead, she bit into some toast and kept reading through the schedule.

After breakfast they were to board a shuttle to take them to Crurenus located in the Toth 4I1 Planetary System.  Their destination on Crurenus was Cinegarde, a metropolis and trading center of the Toth Planetary System.  Once there Maeve would go shopping for dresses for several upcoming events that Snoke ordered her to attend in his absence.  Maeve was to do charity work soon after in the poorer areas and then head to the First Order command center to see how the transition of power was moving along.  Eda held out a small sealed envelope.  Maeve took it and felt the ear piece through the paper.

“Your father included that." Maeve waved a hand at Eda before continuing with her breakfast.

“I’ll listen to it in the shuttle.  No need to worry myself about it now.”  With that Eda released the conversation and moved on to more mundane things.

* * *

 

Maeve lounged on a recliner and listened to the orders that Snoke had given her.  She would pay a visit to a few corrupt individuals to obtain information about an artifact that her father desperately wanted.  She wasn’t sure what it was exactly but he said that the object radiated pure force energy and she’d feel it from touching it.  He had asked her only a few times to do something like this and Maeve formulate a course of action.  Her thoughts were interrupted by an attractively young officer.  He smiled down at her giving her a curt nod.

“Mistress Kracov we’re approaching Cinegarde and should land shortly."

 Maeve nodded and headed toward the other side of the room she occupied which gave her a clear view of the approaching planet’s surface.  Stars gave way to the first whips of Crurenus’s atmosphere and suddenly she could see it in clear view.  Green filled the entirety of the window and small patches of water broke through it in spots.  It seemed to go on forever before the open ocean flashed by and her view of green became a view of blue.  Within a matter of minutes, green islands dotted the open ocean giving way to larger pockets of land before the coast came into view and below her she could see nothing but an electric jungle.

The officer that had notified her appeared at her side.

“Mistress, we’re docking now."

Maeve nodded and turned back towards the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEK!  
> If you had thoughts (or feelings) leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, and/or share.  
> Leading feedback will better help me create quality content, so please interact with me.  
> Chapter 1 & 2 were huge information dumps and I apoligize for that but I wanted to get it out of the way now. Chapter 3 & 4 are more plot and action driven and will earn the hard "E" rating I gave this work. Look for authors notes for these.
> 
> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
> Tumblr: https://darthglitterfanfiction.tumblr.com/


	3. Desolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS: Remember the "E" rating I gave this work? Well buckle the fuck up ya'll because shit is about to go down. This chapter contains: graphic language, one explicit sex scene, one explicit rape scene, mentions of sex, mentions of rape, intense gory violence, torture, body mutilation, mentions of tetraphila/monster sex, and cannibalism. If any of those themes upset you, DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER OR DO BECAUSE I DON'T CONTROL YOUR LIFE!
> 
> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.
> 
> It took me a month to post this but I had some health issues and school kicked my ass. This chapter is long as an apology for my long absence.  
> Pronunciation (English Phonetic Spelling):  
> Maeve: [meɪv]  
> Kracov: [krækɒv]  
> Dumia: [dumajə]  
> Ethoo: [ɛθu]  
> Criedan: [kridɛn]  
> Tezhul: [tɛzul]  
> Irgrith: [ɪrgrɪθ]  
> Veigrid: [vigrɪd]  
> Kohva: [kovə]  
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourage it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

"When I'm on her mind

I'm never coming back

If two timing's what it takes

Then we'll both know

One take is all we need

We're not equipped to stay unloved

But it's all we've got and we're not at all alright

Come on baby and give me the creeps

Give me the creeps"

 _Kill the Music_ -Every Time I Die

 

* * *

 

Aboard _Supremacy,_ slouched in his favorite office chair, sat Kylo Ren.  His data pad occupied his lap and the pin-sized camera emitted a small hologram of dazzling colors.  The hologram’s twinkling light reflected itself within his eyes and casted light and shadow around the room.  The metal walls glittered like the universe right outside the window.  The bookcases crammed with files, hardware, and tattered books casted long shadows across the room like a creatures extended claws.  Off to his left was his personal desk currently clogged with heaps of loose paper waiting for filing. A long conference table, which held a super-computer, occupied the middle of the room.  Kylo sat in the middle of one side and three empty chairs were on the other.  A faint glow radiated from the table just next to his right arm where an unread message appeared.  It remained ignore while Kylo concentrated entirely on the little hologram.  A young woman twirled across the screen of the data pad, moving from one side to the other, her dress billowing behind like a single feather in flight.  It was a simple white and it clung to her body like a second skin when it came to a rest.  Kylo studied every movement of the little figure daintily swirling about.  Her hair sparkled, but he didn’t know if it was the illusion of the hologram or real life.  The part of her body that he studied endlessly were her eyes.  One a stormy gray and the other a startling glowing red-rimmed yellow, reminiscent of every Sith lord consumed by the dark side.  But this hologram was no Sith.  A Sith wouldn’t dance around with a lazy smile.  He wondered if she was dancing this very moment.

Her name was Maeve Kracov; the ward of The Supreme Leader.  Kylo Ren never met her, let alone laid eyes on her.  When he came to Snoke as a mere teenager Maeve was safely tucked away from most prying eyes.  Kylo believed her to be a fantasy, some kind of rumor everyone talked about but didn’t fully believe.  Not even General Hux, the highest ranking military official, had laid eyes on her.

“It’s preposterous,” Hux had snarled at Kylo.  Their one and only discussion about her happened during a simulation practice.  General Hux observed a group of new recruits while Kylo grilled him about what he knew.

“Why are you even asking?” Hux had stammered, smoothing out the front of his coat.  Kylo shrugged and made some passive aggressive comment about the recruits before taking off, leaving a scowling Hux in his wake.

Kylo watched until the image stuttered and began again.  Snoke commanded two things from him during their meeting.  The first consisted of a mission to the dead planet Dumia.  Dumia once boasted a plentiful population and profitable economy.  It connected the rest of the galaxy to the very edges of the known worlds.  Many great adventurers made their last stop in Dumia before heading out into the Void of space searching for undiscovered places.  None ever came back.  The demise of Dumia happened suddenly to the shock of the rest of the galaxy.  Ethoo, the star that provided Dumia with life, showed signs of instability.  This wasn’t a huge cause for concern, as stars take billions of years to collapse, but the instability of Ethoo happened suddenly.  The star fused carbon to its core pulling iron along with it.  The presence of iron caused the core to eventually collapse.  A process that takes billions of years happened in just mere months leaving behind a couple burning white dwarves and the rest of the dead star floating away into space.

Evacuations were started, yet never finished, due to the massive population and rapidly dying star.  Time did not show them any favor.  Those that did escape watched as Ethoo died and the planet they called home grew cold and dead.  No one went back.  However, Kylo possessed information that stated otherwise.  Not only was life there, but it held something immensely valuable.

The mission to Dumia came like any other mission and Kylo’s only goal was to accomplish that which Snoke commanded.  The second, and the one he didn’t completely understand, was his duty to marry and produce children with the young woman in the hologram.  The marriage itself was merely for formality, and according to Snoke, held little significance expect within the eyes of the public.  Snoke expressed his desire for Kylo to use his bloodline’s potential to the best of his ability.  Apparently, that also consisted of his ability to produce offspring with force-sensitivity. 

The holographic figure gave a little leap and Kylo wondered if Maeve knew about any of this.  Was she aware that she’d be his wife and wake every morning in a shared bed?  Was she okay with this?  Or was she entirely ignorant to the events unfolding?  What will happen now?  A family was not what Kylo envisioned when he turned to Snoke for guidance.  His own family came to mind.  Kylo could remember trips within the Millennium Falcon, sitting in Han’s lap, as his father pointed out all the different controls.  Chewie would be in the co-pilot seat countering everything Han said while Han would wave him off and continue on.  His mother, Leia, would sing a little tune when she thought no one was looking and always took the opportunity to turn an experience into a life lesson.  All those little moments Kylo remembered, but he also remembered what turned him away.  They fought, constantly.  At first they tried to hide it from him, but eventually, the arguments erupted anywhere regardless of his presence.  His father would disappear and leave Leia to explain to her son why his father left.  He didn’t hate his parents, especially not his mother, but his father had been a distant stranger at times.  The betrayal from his uncle hurt the worst.  The great Jedi Master Luke Skywalker was no hero and Kylo saw him for what Leia couldn’t.  Snoke didn’t mention Luke during their meeting which only meant there were no new leads.  Luke remained off the grid, completely invisible to everyone.  Kylo would find him and then he would kill him.  Only Luke’s death could ease the madness in Kylo’s head.  Then he’d begin again.  Clean.  Renewed.

Kylo Ren yearned to find his place in the galaxy, and Luke’s betrayal pushed him further away from the Light.  Everywhere he turned Kylo looked for meaning and yet he couldn’t find it.  Not even his time with Snoke felt secure.  He was lost.  Lost within himself.  Kylo called out to the darkness and it came.  But the Light never left.  It let the darkness in but waiting for the moment to push it back, creating an unending battle within his mind.  The Dark never took him completely, no matter how much of himself he gave.  There was always a piece that remained pure, and untouched by the Dark side.

He swiped away the hologram as a _beep_ emitted through the room.  The study doors slid open and three familiar figures shuffled in.  Kylo formed The Knights of Ren not long after he destroyed Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Temple.  They had been students of Luke, like himself, who played with the Dark side of the force.  They too did not see the absolute value in one side or the other, but considered a higher purpose within The First Order and under Kylo Ren’s guidance.  They moved around the table and took the three chairs across from him.  To his left sat Criedan, a dark skinned man of twenty-three years.  Criedan kept his black hair long and tied in a high ponytail with the sides shaved smooth.  The human clan Criedan originated from have a distinct genetic marker of violet eyes.  His were murky as if the violet hid behind dense fog. Next to Criedan, and directly in front of Kylo, sat Tezhul.  Tezhul’s shaved head had a little shine to it, as did his blue eyes, which made many young women weep for his attention.  The lack of hair on Tezhul’s head continued down to his eyebrows.  They were replaced by raised implants under the skin that created a ridged brow.  A tattoo of three bold black lines started at the bottom lip and moved down across his chin and neck then disappeared beneath the neckline of his top.  Tezhul’s appearance made brave men shake, but Kylo knew Tezhul was no brute.  The two of them were close, even prior to the destruction of Luke’s Temple.  Irgrith filled the third chair with her legs propped onto the table with her back angled toward Tezhul.  Her straightened blonde bob grazed over Tezhul’s left shoulder, but the man seemed oblivious or indifferent.  At first glance, Tezhul appeared as the most aggressive of the three, but behind Irgrith’s lips were her finely sharpened teeth.

Irgrith liked to use those teeth for many things.  Tearing out men’s throats was probably at the top of that list.  Kylo witnessed many moments when Irgrith would blindly switch to hand-to-hand combat just for the chance to bare her pearly whites and seek flesh.  Blood would squirt from where her teeth impaled the skin and the victim under her fangs would gurgle and struggle, but not before blood filled their mouth and choked them to death.  Irgrith wouldn’t stop to wipe the blood running down her face.  Kylo had firsthand experience with those teeth, but not in such a violent manner.  Irgrith liked to give light bites during sex, and lick up the blood while she climaxed.  Most nights she’d come to his bed, completely uninvited, and seek pleasure with him.  The first time Kylo indulged her without thinking.  Then, with valid fear of those teeth, he relented and agreed every time she came to his door.  Kylo felt no love or affection for her, not romantically at least.  He valued her as an asset to the team, and wanted her to come back from missions safely.  Though, he wanted that for all The Knights.

Like Kylo, the three of them all wore the standard black of The First Order and The Knights of Ren.  Their outfits were collectively the same with a few small adornment pieces unique to each individual.  Their formal wear, like his, consisted of heavier clothing and armor, along with a unique helmet.  Today, they all wore simple attire suited to their environment.  Kylo could feel Irgrith’s eyes eating up his figure.  Immediately, Kylo knew, she had decided on a bedroom visit. But he kept his eyes trained towards Tezhul and Criedan.  Kylo always spoke first before The Knights directly addressed him.

“Good Evening.”

“Good Evening Lord Ren.”

“Will the other Knights be joining us?” 

“No.  They’re off on a different mission.”  Kylo placed the data pad on the table to his left.  He took his right index finger and swiped right along the top of the table’s surface where the glow emitted from.  A central control panel popped up and Kylo moved to open the files he needed.

“Is it dangerous?”  The tip of Irgrith’s canine peeked through over her bottom lip creating a wolf-like appearance.  Her lips twisted into a smirk which only heightened the animalistic quality.

“Very.” Kylo said without looking up at her.

 “Sounds like a good time.”  Irgrith leaned back in her chair, removing her legs from the table, and returned to an upright position.  Criedan gave Irgrith a sidelong glance before speaking.

“What is the mission, exactly?” he asked, returning his attention back toward Kylo.  He folded his hands and placed them on the table.

“We’re heading to a dead planet beyond the Outer Rim.”  Kylo leaned back as the files he selected opened up before him.  The surface of the table flooded with documents.  He made a few necessary taps and a hologram of Dumia came up.  It floated just above the table, slightly rotating so that they could see the entire surface.   “Our mission is to obtain an artifact.”  His team all glanced at each other.

“A dead planet?” asked Tezhul slowly. Kylo nodded.

“Dumia, to be exact.”

Tezhul grunted.  “That planet died hundreds of years ago.  There isn’t anything there.”

“There is.” Kylo corrected.  “Artificial life, but life nonetheless.”

Before Tezhul could push for more information, Criedan butted in.  “What kind of artifact is it?” he asked.  Kylo swallowed and glared at his Knights.  His silence lasted a moment too long.

“Lord Ren,” Criedan said, ”What are we retrieving?”  Kylo frowned and made a few more taps to the table’s surface.  Dumia’s rotating hologram disappeared and was replaced by a large pyramid-shaped object.  It too began to rotate.  At the apex, a black crystal was visible just beneath the surface.  The three sides were covered in ancient hieroglyphs and strange symbols none of them could understand.  Along the base, on all sides, was an incantation of some kind.

“It’s a Sith holocron,” whispered Irgrith.  The room remained silent as Kylo observed their faces, each sporting different looks of amazement.

“Who’s information does this possess?” Criedan asked, leaning closer to observe the markings.

“I don’t know.”  Kylo tapped the surface and the holocron moved to the left, creating space for the map of Dumia, which resumed its rotation alongside it.

“What I do know is that a Sith holocron is on _that_ planet.”  Kylo jabbed a finger towards Dumia.  “We don’t know who’s holocron it is.  Until we have possession of it, I can only guess.”

“This is it?” Tezhul gestured toward the holocron.  “This is what we are looking for?”

“Not that one specifically.  But, yes, a holocron.”

“How are we to find it?”

Kylo pursued his lips.  Yes, they were after a holocron on a dead planet.  Sounds simple, but nothing ever truly is.  He waved his hand across the surface and everything disappeared.  The control panel came up again and Kylo opened several documents.  He double-tapped to copy them and then flicked his fingers toward each of the Knights.  The replicated documents zoomed to their new owners who greedily tapped the table’s surface to open them.

“Snoke, and myself, have confirmed the holocron’s existence.  Probes were launched and they analyzed the surface of the planet searching for Dark side disturbances in the Force.”  Kylo opened his own documents and reached out to the left to swipe his hand across and up.  Dumia reappeared and resumed its rotation.  Kylo stood and slid his finger across the holographic surface, rotating the planet.  He stopped, selected a small area with two fingers, and slid out.  The hologram zoomed in and Kylo dragged it to the middle where he bent his hands forward.  The vertical image assumed a horizontal layout, displaying the topographical surface of this particular highlighted section.

“The disturbance was located here.” Kylo said, bringing his hand back to his side.  He crossed his arms and leaned a little on his left hip.  “We can’t determine an exact location.  Once we enter into the atmosphere and land can we send out surface probes to better track the location.  For now, we’re limited to this area.”

“Is it…just…waiting for us?”  Irgrith tilted her head to the side while her eyes roamed over the map.

“I strongly believe the holocron is in the possession of a Necromancer.”

“a WHAT?!”  Irgrith bolted up, violently knocking over her chair.  Tezhul grabbed her wrist firmly and tugged.  Irgrith bared her teeth and snarled at him.  The two stared each other down.

“Sit. Down.” Tezhul commanded.  Irgrith snatched her arm away and righted her chair, plopping down with a huff.  Tezhul turned back to Kylo.

“Do we have a course of action?”  Kylo considered the question before shaking his head.

“At the moment I do not.  The Necromancer clearly understands Sith magic, but I do not believe she is a Sith Lord.  She’s a dark entity.  Powerful, but nothing compared to a true Master.”  Irgrith silently fumed off to Kylo’s right but he ignored her.

“Not all Sith Lords are powerful.  They are all mortal.  They can die.”

“So can we.”  Irgrith muttered.  Tezhul ignored her retort.

“Open video file 19RQ7T.”  The topographical map vanished and a video popped up.

“Play.”  Kylo commanded.  The image remained for a moment and then moved.  Undead creatures ran through the streets of a smoking city.  Their decayed, grey flesh hung on skeletal frames of various sizes and shapes.  Some were no more than half the height of a human male, while some towered over buildings.  They all featured nefarious ligaments and appendages from claws and talons to tentacles and pinchers.  Unnatural, every one, and horrible to gaze upon.  The four of them watched as creatures tore running citizens in half, feasting on the exposed organs.  Some toyed with their catches, ripping off one limp at a time.  Two creatures fought over a screaming Twi’lek girl, tearing her straight through the middle from mouth to groin.  Another gnawed on the face of a dead human girl.  The creature’s rotting prick moved back and forth under her dress.  Kylo averted his eyes toward the floor.  Tezhul gagged and turned away.

“Turn this abomination off.”

“Stop.  Resume previous file.”  The topographical map took the video’s spot.  An audible sigh of relief followed.

“That,” said Criedan, jabbing his finger at the spot where the video once occupied, “is power none of us possess.”

“No.  But it’s power she no longer has either.”  Kylo resumed his seat.  “This carnage lasted mere minutes before the creatures suddenly collapsed.  She didn’t plan this attack, but made it possible through pure survival.”  Kylo leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table.

“She went to this city in the Outer Rim to hide in plain sight.  With the possession of the holocron, she also has access to the information.  From that,” Kylo shrugged his shoulders, “she may have learned necromancy from it.  What we do know, as you will see in those files, is that she was experimenting.  Stupidly, but still doing it.  Someone took notice and the authorities came for her.  In desperation she gave life to those creatures.”

“But how do you know?” asked Criedan.  “What makes you think she couldn’t do that again?”

“The Force lives in all things.  Whether dead or alive.  Right?”  The three of them nodded.  “The Force lives in all things that exist or have existed.  When living things die they return to The Force.  These creatures never truly lived, so they never existed.  They were from her imagination.  To give those ideas life she manipulated matter and pushed The Force into them with her will.  The reason they collapsed moments later and dissolved into dust was because The Force never lived within them to begin with.  It was only her energy that pushed The Force into them.  When she lost hold of The Force, they collapsed.  Can you imagine the energy it would take to do that?  Her body is spent.  Her soul is spent.  There is no way she could or may ever recover from magic like that.”

“And now you’ve tracked her to Dumia.”  All four them remained silent, not truly looking at each other, but fixing their eyes on various places in the room.Criedan looked out the study window contemplating what to say next.

“What do we know about her now?”

“Like I said before, it is unlikely that she is a Sith Lord.  She lives on a dead planet by herself.”

“Some people like isolation.”

“Total isolation would protect her, which means, she isn’t powerful enough to keep the holocron safe in a populated area.  With that knowledge, I believe she is weakened but not entirely helpless.”

“Is she alone?” asked Irgrith.  Kylo shook his head.

“That’s the other thing.  She had a following when she lived in this city.  They followed her to Dumia.  It’s likely they were the ones that transported her there.”  Kylo put a hand on the document and swiped his hand across and up.  The document’s innards fanned out and Kylo selected the photos.  Many of them contained blurry and obscure pictures of the Necromancer.  The rest were photos of her followers.  All of them were ragged and sickly looking.

“Many of her followers are Spice addicts and religious zealots.  They are nothing compared to what we’ve fought before.  A mere nuisance.”  Kylo cleared his throat and moved his entire arm across the screen, closing out everything, including the documents he copied.

“I’ll have the copies sent to your data pads.”  Kylo stood up and the three Knights immediately followed suit.  “The four us will go alone with no backup.  We cannot trigger any notion that The First Order is putting their hands into Sith knowledge.  The Republic would be in an uproar and war wouldn’t be too far behind.”

The three Knights nodded and headed for the door.

“We’re with you, Lord Ren,” said Criedan.

“Always,” said Tezhul and Irgrith together.

“We leave tomorrow morning.”  With a nod, the Knights were dismissed.

 

* * *

 

While the three Knights studied the material Kylo prepared for them, he worked in the hanger of the _Supremacy._ There, Kylo met with the crew of his _Upsilon-_ class command shuttle.  Typically, they’d accompany Kylo on his missions, but this one was out of the question.  Kylo had no intention of bringing them along, but he worked with them in preparing the shuttle.  He oversaw their progress, interrupting here and there to explain, or smooth out, any instruction.  From there, he went deep within _Supremacy_ to see the droid mechanics.  Many of them lived their entire lives in the underbelly of Snoke’s personal Dreadnought.  They hardly slept and worked endlessly to oversee the upkeep of every droid onboard the vessel.  Many of them were hunched over due to years of work bent over the metal shells of broken droids.  Kylo interacted with them as little as possible.  The little interactions the mechanics did have made them almost nearly impossible to communicate with.  All they knew were droids.  The outside world didn’t seem possible beyond their room.

Nearing the end of his day, Kylo returned to his private quarters.  Food was delivered and Kylo ate it while browsing the news coming out of The Republic.  None of it surprised him.  The Senate endlessly debated and argued, getting nowhere.  Kylo locked the data pad and headed to the shower to rinse away the day.  Emerging from the steam, he toweled himself off, and slipped into comfortable pajama bottoms.  The softness of his sheets wrapped him up, creating a comforting embrace.  His mind started to wonder about the young woman he watched dance within the hologram.  He shot up and snatched up his data pad before dropping back into the bed.  Kylo opened up the file he had on her and began to read what he’d already read half a dozen times.

It didn’t provide much on Maeve except a basic biography of her life.  The file contained nothing about her likes and dislikes, or really anything that provided any character.  Hobbies weren’t even within the file.  It was surprisingly bare.  There was an endless amount of pictures Kylo could scroll through.  Maybe Snoke did this to tap into his male desires of the female body?  Kylo certainly had his own desires and needs, but with no idea about who she was, how could he really even begin to fantasize?  He didn’t fantasize about her sexually.  Instead, Kylo fantasized about why Snoke had commanded him to marry her.  Why had The Supreme Leader saved her as a little girl?  Why did he invest in her education and seem to generally care about her wellbeing?  _Why?_   The questions came in rapid succession as he speculated around the motives that Snoke could have.  A dull ache formed in his head and the thought of all the possibilities.  Kylo always attempted to understand Snoke, and every time he failed.

Instead, he flipped through the photos and videos.  He lingered on each one, absorbing all the information he could.  Maybe there was something here.  Maybe he could attempt to piece together an image of her. Kylo came across one of Maeve sitting in an art studio surrounded by an astounding amount of paintings.  She had a tranquil quality in her face, sitting on the floor in an array of exotic blankets and pillows, staring off to the right.  A small smile appeared on his lips.

“Why are you smiling Lord Ren?” came a sultry voice.  Kylo almost jumped.  How the fuck had he not heard Irgrith come in?  He was absorbed in looking at photos of a pretty girl, that was why.  Irgrith moved out of the shadow and into the glow of his reading light.  Kylo immediately locked the data pad and set it on the nightstand, hiding Maeve’s image from Irgrith.

“I was thinking about you.”  He deadpanned.  Irgrith tsked at him.

“You’re lying Lord Ren.” Irgrith cooed before sitting on the edge of the bed.  He could see Irgrith wore something skimpy underneath her black cloak.  She moved her shoulders slightly from side to side before turning into the movements.  As she moved, Irgrith unsnapped her buttons on her cloak one by one.  As the last one unsnapped, she paused, and looked up at Kylo under hooded eyes and long eyelashes.  The cloak fell from her body and out of sight.  She moved up onto her knees and ran her hands down the length of her body.  Her slow purpose forced Kylo to watch, but, it wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before.  Irgrith always dragged out her time with him, no matter how much he attempted to shorten it.  Her hands slid between her thighs and she pushed them open with both hands, trailing her glistening tongue across her upper lip.

Irgrith’s top was no top at all.  The black chain came around her neck connecting to the end of two metal square plates that just covered her nipples.  Another chain connected behind her back to keep it in place.  The underwear she wore opened in the bottom, revealing her womanhood fully.  There was no mound of blonde there.  Kylo desperately wished Irgrith would disappear.  He silently pleaded with The Force, asking it to whisk her away, and leave him in peace.  The Force didn’t work like that, and Irgrith remained at the end of his bed.  Irgrith wouldn’t stop until she reached peak satisfaction.  Initially, Kylo dismissed her advances for a while, but Irgrith only saw it as a game.  Irgrith played along to her own little game, believing Kylo only wanted her to chase him a bit.  One night, she snuck into his personal rooms and waited for him in his bed, completely naked.  At that particular moment, Kylo gave in.  He didn’t want to fight her and the day had been painful.

His acceptance only encouraged her, and whenever she showed up, Kylo knew it was better to move the process along instead of throw out reservations.  Tonight, he wanted to kick her out, but any struggle would translate as foreplay, and so, Kylo accepted what was ahead.

Irgrith bent forward placing her arms out in front and moved her ass high into the air like a cat stretching out.  She crawled towards him, exaggerating the swing of her hips.  Plump breasts swished back and forth, giving him flashes between her arms.  As Irgrith reached his legs, she placed her hands gently on his ankle and slid them up along his shins and over his knees.  Kylo watched her leisurely motions working toward his thighs.  Her hands grasped the elastic band of his pants.  They jerked down, and with a few fluid movements Irgrith removed them completely.  Kylo lay completely naked before her, his semi-hard cock resting there.  She lingered there for a moment, above him, taking in his muscled form.  She looked up at him with large doe eyes before gently pressing his thighs apart.

Kylo didn’t ache to touch her.  His hands stayed to the sides unmoved by her seduction.  Irgrith never noticed his detachment.  She trailed her fingertips over his legs making small little swirls and circles.  The sensation tickled him but he found no pleasure in her caresses.

“I’m tiring of your teasing,” he growled at her.  Irgrith pouted her lips.  He didn’t have time for her games, and more than anything, Kylo wanted to sleep.  With a quickness that surprised her, Kylo wrapped his hand around her throat and yanked her down toward his cock.

“This is what you want?” Kylo leaned down towards her.

“Suck.” He tightened his grip around her throat and a muted cough passed her lips.  One thing Kylo could always pull out of his arsenal to quicken their encounters was roughness.  Irgrith dragged sex out, but with some dominate behavior, Irgrith melted and Kylo could move it along.  He released her throat and leaned back into the pillows, watching her with indifference.

“Anything for you Lord Ren,” Igrith purred.

_Ugh._

Irgrith lowered her head, flickering her tongue out for a taste at the slit.  Her tongue probed it and a bead blossomed.  She greedily licked it up.  Kylo watched her eyes flick up to his and back down.  The attention sent blood rushing to his cock, and his once semi-hard cock now stood at attention.  Her tongue roamed down, moving from tip to base in fluid movements.  Upon reaching back up to the top she brought her mouth around the mushroom tip, hallowing her cheeks and making a sucking sensation that sent pulses shooting up his cock and to his brain.

The pleasure Irgrith gave Kylo with her mouth betrayed how he felt towards her.  His body was reacting normally to sexual stimulation, but that didn’t mean he wanted it.  He didn’t crave her body.  He didn’t crave her mouth around him.  He didn’t crave the rhythmic thrusts of his hips as they moved his cock deep within her cunt.

Kylo settled further into the pillows and let Irgrith’s mouth work around him. He draped his arm across his eyes to hide his view of her.  Irgrith mistook it for a sign of pleasure.  She worked her way down little by little, lightly cupping his balls in her hand, giving them a gentle squeeze as her mouth moved down.  The whole thing was incredibly slow, too slow for Kylo who simply wanted to be left alone.  Kylo took hold of Irgrith’s blonde bob in a firm fist, pulling a muffled cry from her.  He moved his hips like a piston, snapping them up and down.  With every thrust of his hips Kylo would move Irgrith’s head down.  Quickly finding a rhythm he enjoyed, Kylo worked towards reaching his end.

Irgrith choked and gagged around his cock as Kylo took control.  His movements brought a curl to his toes as the tip of his cock hit the back of her throat.  The heat and tightness of her mouth brought him ever closer to his release.  The audible gagging only spurred him on more and Kylo returned those gags with renewed speed.  The sounds ground at his brain, and her hands gripped his thighs, nails digging into his flesh.  Small beads of blood appeared unnoticed.  A sudden pain shot up his body and Kylo released Irgrith’s blonde bob.  The bitch had grabbed his balls and fucking squeezed them as if she had squashed a bug!  Taking advantage of the moment, Irgrith pounced on top of him, positioning herself above his cock and slamming her body down onto it.  Kylo grunted as her slick folds enveloped his cock all the way to the base.  She snapped her hips up and down, riding his cock with unrelenting speed.

Kylo’s balls were still sore, and his mind still a bit dazed from what happened.  Gathering himself, he moved up to flip her over and take control, but a wall hit him and he remained in place.  _She’s using the Force to fucking hold me here!?_ Kylo’s resolve suddenly broke and he no longer cared what happened.  Irgrith had power, but not at the level he did.  Kylo pushed the Force back at her, releasing himself from her hold.  A startled look passed over her face, and Kylo surged forwards, sweeping Igrith completely off his cock.  In a one quick movement he flipped her around to her stomach.  Kylo sent out The Force and held her there, face smashed into the sheets, her ass high in the air, thighs spread, and dripping cunt exposed.  _Now, I can finally end this fucking nightmare and sleep._

Kylo gripped her hips and positioned himself at her opening.  His cock pressed against her slick heat and he let out an audible groan as he slid himself inside.  Irgrith’s hands dug into the sheets, her cries muffled, and Kylo rejoiced in his complete control.  He slowly slid his cock out until the tip was just inside.  With one hard thrust Kylo moved his hips forward.  Irgrith made a noise at the impact but Kylo didn’t relent.  His hips worked like a piston.  Red welts formed under his hands where they gripped her soft pale flesh.  Though his pleasure built, it seemed to plateau, and he desperately thought of every woman he’d ever found attractive.  He thought of the body slave who cleaned his room.  He thought about the beautiful women who accompanied their husbands to First Order parties.  Their hair pulled back and cheeks lightly blushed.  They looked graceful, elegant, and full of innocence that Kylo longed hoped to fuck out of them.  His mind drifted and moved to his future wife, Maeve.  Something carnal in him flared and Irgrith slipped away entirely, replaced by the woman with the starry hair and haunting eyes.

His orgasm appeared suddenly, as if the thought of Maeve in Irgrith’s place brought it on.  He held Irgrith in place, cock impaled to the hilt, and released his warm seed inside her womb.  Kylo let go of Irgrith’s reddened hips and pulled the Force back.  She took an audibly loud gasp for air and propped herself up on her elbows.  It took her a moment to gather herself before turning back to look at him.  They were both breathing heavy, her from lack of air, and his from intense exercise.

“You’ve never fucked me like that before.”  Irgrith closed her thighs and brought her knees up a bit, almost childlike in an unusual way.  Kylo didn’t respond.  He slumped back into his pillows, chest still heaving.  Thinking he had a few spare moments, Kylo closed his eyes.  Irgrith thumped his chest and the connection startled his eyes open, a bewildering look crossing his face.

“After all our nights together,” she breathlessly stated, “and…that ending.”  Irgrith curled onto his bare chest.  Kylo kept his arms to the sides, too stunned to move, and unwilling to wrap his arms around her.

“Do you love me?”  Irgrith turned her head up towards him, waiting for a reply that would never come.  Kylo wouldn’t ever admit something like that to her.  It simply wasn’t true, and with his marriage looming Kylo couldn’t say yes, even if he wanted to.  Kylo stared up at the ceiling and didn’t dare glance down at her.

Irgrith’s face came into view.  A small smile tugged at the edge of her lips and her head titled to the side with amusement.  “I don’t think you could even answer that question at the moment.”  She giggled and rolled off him.  Kylo remained still, wondering if she would make a move to leave.  It didn’t seem like it.  He licked his lip.

“We have a long trip ahead of us.  I’m…I don’t know what to say right now.”  The words were an absolute lie.  Irgrith absorbed it without resistance.  Kylo sat up and threw his legs over the bed.  He snatched up his black pants and pulled them on, keeping his back to her.  Her cloak was a few steps away and Kylo headed toward them.  He presented it to her, opening it up.

“I think we should both get some sleep.  Talk about this after?”  Kylo held it out and took a few steps toward the bed.  Irgrith moved off and let him wrap it around her shoulders.  She buttoned up the clasps and turned around to look at him fully.  Irgrith planted a quick kiss on his lips, the first she’d ever given him, and headed out his door without a backwards glance.

 

* * *

 

The next morning Kylo, Tezhul, and Criedan worked on loading up their transport ship with last minute items.  Irgrith had yet to make an appearance.  Tezhul seemed concerned but Criedan couldn’t have given less of a shit if he tried.  The last of the supplies made it on and Kylo signed off with the attendant who’d clear them for take-off with central command.  Irgrith appeared at that very moment, not too late to board, but late enough to miss the heavy lifting.  She wore a long flowing cape with a hood over a long sleeved black shirt, a slim cut leather pant, and combat boots.  A blaster sat on her hip in a holster and around her thigh was a band holding a large hunting knife.  She carried a staff, but not for walking.  In combat, Irgrith could turn both ends in opposite directions of the other, releasing two silver blades.  The blade itself wasn’t the typical metal one would see, but an energy beam that could slice through enemies like a knife through butter.

“Morning Irgrith,” Kylo said, moving in front of her on the loading plank.  Irgrith scowled up at him.  He tilted his head a bit, narrowing his eyes in warning.  Her face faltered and a sadness began to appear there, but only for him.  Irgrith bowed slightly at him, as was the formal greeting in public.

“Good Morning Lord Ren,” and with that she stepped around him and took off up the ramp.  Tezhul and Criedan both glanced at Kylo.

“What did you do?” asked Tezhul.  Criedan turned towards Tezhul and brought his hands out like “come on man”.

“Tezhul, shut the fuck up.”  Tezhul’s face scrunched up, ready to snap at Criedan, but Kylo clapped a hand on his shoulder.  He gave it a light pat before following Criedan up the ramp and into the ship.

Their trip was completely uneventful and the only oddity was the eerie silence coming from Irgrith.  He felt her eyes on his back, glaring at him, but Kylo brushed it off and kept his own eyes on their route.  He hadn’t told her he loved her last night.  The truth was that he simply didn’t.  When he was inside Irgrith, thrusting toward his end, in his last moments before ecstasy took him completely, where on that of his future wife.  They made one stop in the Outer Rim to refuel before heading towards their destination.  A continuous _ping_ signaled their entrance into the planet’s atmosphere.  Tezhul, who’d been snoozing, shot up and rubbed his eyes.

“Tezhul, find us a place to land.”

“Yes, Lord Ren.”  A few knobs lit up as Tezhul reached over and punched a couple buttons.  A grid came up on the screen off to Tezhul’s right.  A red light ran from the top to the bottom and each time a little of the topography appeared until a clear image of the land appeared.  Tezhul punched in a few more numbers before a target appeared and moved along the screen, searching the topography.  Eventually, it _pinged_ and zeroed in on a spot.

“Do it,” Kylo said, nodding toward Tezhul.  He turned back to Irgrith and Criedan watching from the lounge chairs.

“Suit up.  We’re landing.”  Irgrith and Criedan stood up in a synchronized move and began arranging their equipment and supplies.

“The air is breathable, but potentially unstable.  We should each take an oxygen mask in case of an unexpected change,” Tezhul called from over his seat.

“It’s cold though.  You’ll see your breath so put on something warm.”  Tezhul moved from his chair and headed towards them.  The spacecraft began its descent in autopilot.

The craft landed smoothly without even a shift.  Kylo pulled a black fur-lined cloak to switch out with his usual lightweight one.  He didn’t have his signature helmet with him, nor did the other Knights.  They were on a mission, and the mission didn’t require heavy combat, nor a show of power.  They simply needed to grab the holocron and get out.  The four of them exited the craft and surveyed the land around them.

A grayness coated everything as if the dullness had poured like liquid paint from the sky.  The sky too was a similar gray. Kylo looked up, expecting a sun, or moon, and saw nothing.  Ethoo had truly collapsed, and with it, all life.  When Kylo exhaled, his breath steamed, yet the coldness wasn’t like any coldness he felt on other planets.  The coldness was not from lack of warmth, but an emptiness.  Absolute silence surrounded them.  A shuffle of a boot radiated like a scream.  Kylo had an immediate reaction to whisper.  Silly, the thought.  Nothing was here to hear them.  Kylo reached out, seeking The Force.  He touched it, and The Force gave to him everything to know there was about the planet.  Death.

“The Force clings to this place, but not naturally.”  His three companions gave him a confused look.

“Isn’t The Force the thing that connects all life?” asked Irgrith with annoyance.

“It is, but this is a dead planet.  The Force doesn’t live within a place where nothing is dead or alive.  It’s an empty shell.  Something keeps it here.  There is life and potential death somewhere on this planet and The Force lives there.”

Two droids descended behind them.  One, a standard combat droid, programmed to keep an eye on the ship while the four of them ventured off for the holocron.  The other, a DU4-AA droid, programmed to remain inside the ship, feeding the group information as they moved.  Kylo turned to the DU4-AA service droid.

“Stay on board and keep us updated about our surroundings.  Scan for lifeforms, air chemistry, and temperature.  Report any and all changes.  Do you understand?”

“ _Yes, Lord Ren_ ,” beeped the droid.  It turned around and headed back up the landing plank as it withdrew behind it.  The combat droid lined itself up and stood patiently, waiting for an intruder that may never come.

“Let’s go.” Kylo said, driving his team forward.

The landscape changed little over their trek.  The sky didn’t change, as if day and night didn’t exist here. The ground remained dry and dead, breaking under their boots.  Bare shrubs, white grass, and leafless trees speckled the land.  A large canyon ran along to their left, vast and deep.  It went into the horizon and Kylo thought it might continue along the entire dimension of the planet.  Kylo pressed the ear bud in his right ear signaling DU4-AA.  The other three had one too, so that any information DU4-AA conveyed was heard across the group.

“ _Yes, Lord Ren?_ ” asked the droid.

“Scan for lifeforms and heat signatures.”  Kylo heard a click on the other end meaning the droid had cut the connect to begin scanning.  Tezhul strolled up next to him and they locked eyes.

“I feel something here,” said Tezhul quietly.  “Something is pulling at me and I want to shake it off, but when I think I’ve done it, it’s still there.”  Kylo felt it too.  The Dark side of The Force was crackling within him without Kylo having to pull at it.  The holocron was close, but the question was where.  A click sounded in his ear bud and he paused to listen for DU4-AA’s mechanical voice.

“ _Lord Ren, I picked up heat signatures about twenty miles down the canyon going North.  I can’t distinguish gender or ages but they are human, every one.”_

“Thank you.”

_“One more thing, Lord Ren.  About five miles out from your location are readings of extreme cold.  I can’t tell you exactly what they mean but it could be reanimated dead.”_

“How many?”

“ _About a dozen, Lord Ren_.”  Kylo turned and addressed the trio.

“Stay alert.  We may have to fight our way into her domain.”

The three had started at a light walk when they first set out.  At the mention of a possible location they took off at full speed, keeping a tight formation as they crossed over the broken land.

“ _Lord Ren, there is a dip in the mesa up ahead, that is where I am reading the temperature drops_.”  A mesa?  Kylo came to an abrupt halt.  Criedan, Irgrith, and Tezhul managed to slow and stop while avoiding a collision.  Kylo pressed the ear bud.

“What do you mean a dip in the mesa?  I can see flat land for miles to our right flank.”

 _“We’re on a mesa Lord Ren.  The heat signatures are located down below in the canyon.  The mesa becomes smaller as you head closer to the signatures.  Right now, we are located where the mesa is largest.”_   Kylo silently groaned.  He hadn’t expected to have to descend over a cliff.

“How far away?”

_“You’ll be on it about a mile.”_

They pressed on and in a mere minute could see the dip ahead.  Kylo held up a hand and they all came to a stop. He bent his legs and gave the signal.  Kylo unhooked his lightsaber from its holster, Irgrith twisted her walking staff releasing the twin blades, Tezhul removed his energy bladed ax, and Criedan readied his twin blasters.  They crept as one and moved down into the dip.  It was fairly shallow and they could see just over the sides.  The dip contained one dead tree that had fallen over, and a few spare shrubs.  Nothing stirred.  Kylo realized just then that they hadn’t ever felt the wind.

“Where are they?” asked Irgrith, lessening her grip on her twin blades.  The four glanced around, observing the empty space around them.  Tezhul bent down and expected the dead tree.  It crumbled away at his touch as if waiting for someone to come along and release it from its shell.

“There isn’t anything here.” Criedan said, running up to the ledge and peering down into the canyon.  Kylo followed up behind him searching for any sign of direction.  They shared a silent glance of understanding before Kylo headed back into the dip where Irgrith and Tezhul stood hunched over the fallen tree.

“Nothing?” Tezhul asked, standing up and brushing off his hands. Kylo shook his head.

“We don’t detect an enemy presence but that doesn’t mean they aren’t around.” 

A loud _CRACK_ sounded and Irgrith cried out.  A swollen gray hand gripped her wrist.  When she pulled back its grip tightened, the black claws drawing droplets of blood.  Tezhul brought down his energy-blade ax in a large arch severing the hand in one strike.  Though severed from the arm, the hand still gripped Irgrith’s wrist.  She backed up, swinging her arm around trying to throw it off.

“It’s not coming off! Why the fuck is it not coming off?  Help me! HELP ME!”  The three of them made a move towards her, Tezhul making it first, and desperately pulled at the rotting fingers.  Irgrith’s eyes were wide with fright and tears stained her blotchy cheeks.  It took some effort but Tezhul managed to remove the hand, finger by finger.  When it dropped a sigh of relief reverberated from the group.

“What the hell-“

Before Criedan finished, the fallen tree exploded.  Bark flew through the air around them, kicking up enough dust to obscure their view as it crashed to the ground.  Tezhul threw up a force-shield, deflecting any bark that came toward the group.  As the dust settled, they could see a figure dragging itself toward them, but the dust of the tree obscured its true form.  Kylo ignited his crimson crossguard lightsaber.   The red beam crackled and sparked.  Irgrith took a ready stance with her blades, as did Tezhul with his energy-blade ax.  Criedan removed his blasters and aimed them at the approaching form.  A deformed humanoid creature humped toward them.  Its gray flesh hung from its bleached bones.  Bulbous sores pocketed the little skin that was there and sulfuric smelling puss oozed from them, dripping down onto the ground where it _hissed_ as it made contact with the dust.

As they moved towards it in a v-formation, other wretched creatures emerged from the ground.  Their claws dug into the earth as they pulled themselves up from the dry, cracked dust.  None of them moved with the speed of a normal human, but their sores were dangerous, as were their claws.  A dozen or so moved toward them and more were not far behind.  Kylo cut through the creature that had grabbed Irgrith and sliced it clean in half from neck to crotch.  He sidestepped the falling body to avoid the sulfur puss and headed straight into the creatures following their companion.  Criedan and Tezhul flanked Kylo turning their backs inwards to create a kind of ram, with Irgrith bringing up the rear.  The four of them created a tight circle. They surged forward as one unit, pushing into the onslaught of creatures.

It would be no easy feat, as the creatures stood about eight feet tall, their backs large and hunched.  Kylo drove his crimson blade forward impaling the creature in front of him.  A terrible gurgled sound emitted from its mouth.  He could see it’s black tongue and yellowed teeth.  He kicked the creature back and it fell on several of its comrades.  Kylo tapped into the Dark side energy.  It uncoiled and spread around Irgrith, Tezhul, and Criedan.  It created a bond of pure energy that kept the four of them internally connected and aware without having to watch out for each other.  They used this often in times of combat so that they could focus on the enemy without having to be cautious of accidental friendly fire.

More creatures pulled themselves from the dead earth.  For every one that fell, three more would appear in its place.  Kylo closed his eyes and let go.  The Dark side energy reached out to him and he grasped it.  Every vein in his body flared with heat and when he opened his eyes again a faint, light yellow glow emitted inside his irises.  He sent out a wave of dark energy, pushing itself out and kicking up the creatures in one swell swoop.  They were picked up and hurdled through the air with such force that their decaying bodies broke apart in the air before hitting the ground almost twenty feet away.  He could see some limbs still moving trying to find their way back to the group.  He turned toward his team.

“We need to move as quickly as possible into that canyon and search for The Necromancer’s domain.  The faster we find it, the faster we can leave this wretched place.”  They moved out, running up the side of the dip, and back onto the mesa.  Kylo com’d back to the ship.

“DU4-AA, tell me where they are”.

_“Lord Ren, the heat signatures read about fifteen miles out.”_

“Give us a route.”  Kylo paused waiting for the droid to report back.

 _“Lord Ren, move down into the canyon as soon as a safe path allows.  Head along the dry river bed and you should come across the end of the mesa.  The canyon should widen before it splits into two directions.”_   He clicked off and turned back to his three companions.

“Criedan, look for a place where we can propel down safely.”  Criedan gave a quick nod before moving along the edge of the canyon.  Irgrith and Tezhul remained at his side waiting for him to give them direction.

“What are we going to do when we find her,” Tezhul asked.  “What if there are more of those things?  How are we to retrieve the holocron, let alone find it, if we have these creatures on our trail.”

“She may already know we’re here.” Irgrith hissed.

“I’m well aware.”

“I’ve found it!”  They moved toward Cridean who was staring down over the edge.

“There are stairs built into the side of the canyon.  Whether they’ve always been there or The Necromancer built them I can’t tell.  It’s steep but I think we can do it.”  Kylo approached the stairs and peered down.  They tightly hugged the side and each step was hardly wider than his foot.  Criedan wasn’t exaggerating.

“I’ll head first.  Irgrith come behind, followed by Criedan, and Tezhul bring up the rear.” They began their descent, slowly as first to accommodate themselves to the steps.  When they found a rhythm their descent went quickly and without incident.  Kylo glanced up and observed the walls.  There were no unusual openings, nothing to a possible cave system.  On the other side of the canyon another pair of stairs, identical to these, were built into the wall.  There had to be more of these stairs along the canyon. 

Without the sound of anything natural, even the absence of wind, it made their steps sound like steps of giants.  They moved along the barren river bed and Kylo wondered what the planet had looked like before.  Were there people who lived here? Animals?  He didn’t recall coming across any bones except for the husks of long dead plants.  He wondered if life had a chance here.  A large _thud_ echoed around them and they glanced around expecting an enemy.  Small objects were moving off the edge of the cliff, landing onto the ground below.  At first Kylo didn’t know what it was and then he remembered the creatures.

“Their following us,” said Irgrith.

“They are,” said Tezhul, “but I don’t think half a body made that fall.”  Irgrith’s face went pale and she turned away, moving on ahead.  Kylo followed behind glancing around for possible clues.  They moved at a steady pace, watching the edges of the canyon for any activity.  Kylo could feel a dark energy encroaching on his mind as the group moved further along.  The canyon turned up ahead, and just as DU4-AA predicted, the canyon opened up and spilt off into two routes.  However, something blocked their path.

A neat line of people waited for them about a hundred yards away.  Behind them, and at an even further distance, were the beginnings of what looked like an encampment.  The people didn’t approach them.  Kylo glanced over the Knights who all stared back at him.  He shrugged and forged ahead.  Irgrith and Criedan remained still, in shock of Kylo’s brazen move.  Tezhul trailed just behind him, never hesitating, and always loyal.

Kylo stopped a few feet away and observed the group.  They were all frail and ill-looking.  Their skin was washed out and sunken.  All of them were human, which didn’t surprise Kylo, and they stared at him with white orbs as eyes.  Could they see him?  Or were they all blind?  An uneasiness rose in his stomach and he took a tentative step back.  Tezhul clasped his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.  Criedan and Irgrith ran up behind him, panting slightly.

“Who among you speaks for all?”  None of them responded.  They remained as still as the land around them.

“Who among you speaks for all?”  Kylo raised his voice and sent out a small push of Force energy toward them.  The tips of their garments moved as if a small breeze passed, but it was only the manifestation of The Force.  An older man, on wobbly legs, shuffled forward.  His walking stick that held him upright was no stick at all.  The white was caked in dust from the parched land, but Kylo couldn’t mistake the pearly white.  It was human.

“I speak for all,” croaked the old man, “as I also speak for our Mistress.”

“We are here to see your Mistress.”

“I know.  For she told me, as she has told of many things.”  The man shuffled forward some more, making little progress toward Kylo.  Kylo took one big inward breath before moving quickly toward the man.  The crippled man had hardly made it a third of the way to him and Kylo wasn’t going to make him come any further.  Not in his condition.  Kylo had no ill-will with him, nor the people that stood behind their speaker.  The old man nodded to him in thanks.

“Will you take us to her?”  The old man slowly shook his head and brought up a finger, pointing it directly at the middle of Kylo’s chest.

“Your three companions must stay here.  She requests only you.”

“Like shit we’re leaving him with your old-“

Kylo turned on his Knights and glowered at them.  Tezhul silenced himself and looked away in shame.

“If it is me she wants, then I will come to her.”  The old man nodded and turned gesturing toward the group.  A young girl, a teenager perhaps, came toward the man and grasped his gesturing hand.

“Little one, escort this young man to Mistress.”  The girl nodded and held out her hand to Kylo.  He took it, and she gently urged him forward.  As Kylo glanced back, the Knights stared back dumbfounded, watching his shrinking form.

The girl didn’t lead Kylo into the encampment, but he could see other people peering at them as they passed.  These people too looked close to death.  The girl never let go of Kylo’s hand, and for some odd reason, he found comfort with the contact.  They steered around the eastern side of the encampment toward the left break in the canyon.  As they passed he saw people, of different ages, heights, and ethnicities going about their lives.  If Kylo could call what they were doing living.  Many of them stood completely still as if staring off into space.  A couple of them turned their heads to follow them but many remained ramrod straight.  They passed tents which had different patches of various dull colors.  Upon further inspection Kylo realized the tents were made from human skin, and the variances were differences of skin color sewn together with human hair.

Kylo recoiled and stumbled a bit.  The girl turned and stared at him.  He pointed wordlessly at the tents, unable to form the words he wanted to say.  But he didn’t have to, she understood the _why_ behind his silence.

“We don’t waste anything.  Not even the dead.”  With that the girl tugged on his hand and they continued on.  They passed more tents and several open-air, stand-alone awnings made of bones.  Skulls lined the edges of the roofs as if the Necromancer’s followers attempted some morbid form of art.  The strangest thing Kylo observed where the dozens of couples rutting under the structures.  Some of the women even held on to one of the four pillars while a man took them behind.  There were small grunts but nothing that would signal pleasure.  Kylo didn’t have to ask, for the girl answered his confusion.

“Their making our food source.”  The girl said it so casually.  Kylo stumbled and fell to his knees.  He heaved and everything in his stomach came up until there was nothing left for him to purge.  Several dry heaves rocked his body after emptying his stomach.  The girl waited by him patiently, completely still.  Kylo wiped the bile and saliva from his lips.  His eyes burned with tears and his nose and mouth stung with the acidity of the stomach bile.

He stood on wobbly feet and the girl reached for his hand again.  He snatched it away and walked on.  The girl didn’t seem fazed in the least and she lightly jogged just past him before slowing down and taking the lead.  Kylo kicked his speed up.  _I want off this hell planet._ They broke from the eastern side of the encampment before heading into the left side of the canyon split.  As they rounded a bend, a formation came into view.

The split ended abruptly and a large stone structure jutted out from the rock.  Several large rocks angled in odd directions, creating an enclosure.  Crooked slabs of stone arched in a circle creating a spiral staircase up towards the entrance.  His escort stopped at the base of the stairs and waited for him to approach. 

“This is where I leave you.”  The girl gave a lopsided smile and Kylo could see blackened teeth behind the cracked lips.  He ascended the stairs coming to a huge flat service of smooth rock.  The stone held no blemishes and seemed like one massive piece, as if cut and brought there from far away.  The only markings were that of a decagram, a ten-pointed star, encased in a circle on the smooth stone slab.  Runes of a language long dead were etched inside it.  Kylo walked around its perimeter, oblivious of the figure observing him.  A quiet giggle snagged Kylo from his investigation of the decagram.  He glanced over in the direction of the noise and noticed two little hands coming around a slanted stone slab a couple feet away.  Two dark brown doe eyes sprouted above the pale hands and a small foot daintily pointed out.  A small girl, no more than seven, came around the slab and peered at him.  Her mass of tangled black hair looked like a bird’s nest and the white nightdress she wore had little dust stains like everything else in this place.

They observed each other.  The followers of the Necromancer were frail, emaciated, blind drones.  This girl was healthy and whole, but a tad dirty.  Kylo couldn’t imagine the girl being from the encampment.  He wondered if the Necromancer had a child.  It wasn’t that odd, seeing as a woman held the title.  Kylo made his way around the decagram and tentatively headed toward the girl.  The last thing he wanted to do was startle her, nor did he know if the Necromancer was around watching them.

“What’s your name little one?”  The little girl didn’t answer.  Her hips waved back and forth a little.  Her hands clasped the bottom of her dirty dress and she shied away.

“Don’t be afraid.”  Kylo took a few more steps and then the girl lost all her innocence and turned toward him fully.  Her spine erected and Kylo saw power behind those eyes.

 “I know who you are, Ben Solo.”  The voice was that of a grown woman, no child would speak like that.  Kylo started at the mention of his given name.  He quickly backed up, unsure of what to do next.

“Who are you?” Kylo demanded with a slight edge of terror behind the words.  The little girl giggled like she had earlier and darted around the slanted slab only to emerge the other side an old woman.

“I am whom you seek,” said the woman.  Her pace was slow and she hobbled towards him.  Kylo withdrew his lightsaber and activated the crimson blade.

“You mean to strike down an old woman?  How inhospitable!”  The woman bristled and shook a small fist at him.

“Are you the Necromancer, “Kylo called to her, “Why do you play with me?  Show me your true form.”  The old woman scowled and moved her arm over her head, a black cloud descended from the sky and enveloped her completely.  As it dissipated a figure formed, and out walked a middle-aged woman who looked like the elder of the child and the youth of the old lady.

“I am the one you call Necromancer,” she said, her voice smooth and soft.  The nest of black hair shone glossy and full of loose curls that tumbled down her back and over her shoulders.  The Necromancer wore the same white nightdress but with no signs of dirt.  Kylo could see every curve and dip of her body as the nightdress was nothing more than a sheer piece of fabric.  He could faintly see a small mound of dark hair between her thighs and the coloring of her nipples, the erect mounds poking at the fabric.  Her beauty rivaled many women and Kylo had to made a conscious effort to remind of himself of the terror he’d witnessed.

He remembered the video.  He remembered the creatures that greeted them on the mesa.  He remembered the emaciated, sickly people who waited for their arrival.  He also thought of the tents made of skin and bone.  He thought of the follower’s food source.  Kylo swallowed and stood up a bit straighter.

“I am here for the holocron.  Hand it over and my companions and I will leave you in peace.”  The woman chuckled.

“So fierce,” she said, “but I do not give anything unless I want to.”  Kylo took a step forward.

“Final warning.”  The woman smiled but made no other move.  Kylo sent out a blast of Force energy.  A boom sounded as his energy made contact with an unseen force and a blast of air rushed past The Necromancer.

“The holocron cannot be handed over by force, Kylo Ren.  You must prove deserving of the information.  Only then can you have true possession.”

“And you possess this ability?”  Kylo snorted and ran a hand through his hair.  The woman seemed shocked.  Her brow furrowed and a frown started to form on her lips.

“I am and have been its only keeper.”

“You are Sith then?”  The woman shook her head.

“This is not my holocron, but that of my lover’s. I am no Sith.”  Kylo opened his mouth but shut it again.  Her lover?  _Is this woman serious?_

“I’m no fool.  I expect the truth.”

“I speak truth.”

Kylo regarded her before speaking.  “Who are you?”

“I’m the Necromancer.”

“No.”  Kylo held up a hand.  “You said you speak truth.  Who are you?”  The woman moved to the opposite side of the decagram and glanced down before speaking.

“I am Veigrid.  The Necromancer. The Wraith.  The Abandoned Lady.  The Bone Keeper.”  She glanced up at him and sorrow radiated from her.  “I loved a man of evil and followed in his wake.  This is what it brought me.”  Her arm went out in the direction of the encampment.

“You brought them here.”

“I did no such thing.”  Her voice was a snarl.  “I wrongfully believed I could hide in plain sight among the masses.  In my weakened state they picked me up and brought me to this forsaken planet.  They refuse to leave me.”  Her voice ended in a mere whisper.  They observed each other from across the star.

“You said you loved a Sith.  How can that be so?”  A small hope began to build in his chest.  Maybe Veigrid had something to give him.  Maybe he’d get answers.

“Do you not believe that Sith love or experience desire?”  Veigrid’s mouth turned up into an amused grin. while her hand smoothed at wrinkles that were not there.  A nervous tick, Kylo noticed, a completely human reaction.

“Desire?”  Kylo let out a little laugh at this.  “They certainly do.  But love? Sith love few things.  Power and control among the few.”  He moved around the decagram toward Veigrid.  She visibly tensed but didn’t move.  Her eyes followed his leisurely pace.

“Are you about to prove me wrong?”  They grinned at each other.  Veigrid matched his pace and came to meet him halfway.

“Many Sith have loved.  The owner of this holocron loved me.  Darth Malgus loved Eleena Daru.   He loved her so much that she told him to kill her, to give him permission for the thing he didn’t want to do.  Even after, he held her in his arms and mourned for her.”  Veigrid looked directly into Kylo’s eyes and he felt a knowing there that her beauty hid.  When she looked into his eyes, Kylo felt like a hand was reaching into his very soul, pulling out everything that he held close.  “Darth Bane held passion for Githany.  Revan, although a man of both sides, loved his wife and son.  Even Vader loved before he became who he was.  That love eventually resulted in you, Ben Solo.”

“Those are all tragic stories.”  Veigrid nodded.

“Sith create tragedy and so tragedy follows them like a shadow.”

Silence followed.  They both stared at the ground with only the sound of their shallow breathing to accompany them.  Veigrid brought her hands up into a fist in front of her rolling her thumbs around each other.

“Why are you here?” Her voice was so soft that it hardly registered to Kylo’s ears.

 “I’m here for the holocron.”

“Mhm.”  She chuckled.  “You say that, but something else bothers you.”  She moved away from him and toward the slanted slab of stone before abruptly turning around to face him.

“What is it?”

“Do you think you could ease my worries?” he asked her.  Veigrid shook her head.

“No, I don’t ease worries, but I could have answers.”  She jerked her head in a gesture for him to follow.  They moved deeper into the enclosure, past the stone slab, and toward the back.  Veigrid stopped and went down on her knees, kicking them out to the side and dipping her hand into the floor.  Kylo approached apprehensively, but as he neared he noticed the familiar ripples of water.  She beckoned him to sit next to her, and he did.  Her hand played in the water, scooping it up and letting it dribble from her hand and back into the pool.  Kylo couldn’t see the bottom.  To him, it looked like a fluid black void.  When she scooped water up it left a black residue behind.

“Lay down with your head resting in my lap.  Your chest needs to face the ceiling.  I’ll scoop the water into your mouth.  All you have to do is let the sensation take you where you need it to go.”  Kylo hesitated.  He stared down at the water.  Veigrid leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek.  Her hand came up and brushed his hair back.

“Do not fear, Ben Solo.  I will hold you in my arms until you come back to us.”  Kylo leaned back and let his upper body rest between her legs.  The back of his head rested in her lap, and her legs encased his arms.  He took a large breath and closed his eyes.  When he opened them again he saw Veigrith peering down at him.

“Are you ready?”  Kylo nodded and opened his mouth.  She scooped the brackish water into his mouth.  The taste was tolerable, but certainly not enjoyable.  It trickled down his chin and along his neck, but he accepted every scoop she herded to his mouth.  At the last one she gently closed his jaw and bent down, placing a kiss upon his lips.  At the connection of their lips Kylo felt everything grow fuzzy around him.  Veigrid moved in and out of focus and the world titled around him.  A sensation at the back of his head pulled and then yanked, hard.  He was pulled from reality and thrown into a new one.

_Kylo landed in tall grass.  As he stood he looked out around him, sensing a familiarity.  When he turned to look behind him, the sensation of familiarity became clear.  Luke’s Jedi Temple sat up the hill, untouched, and full of people.  Kylo could just make out Luke a stone’s throw away.  His uncle was not the gray man Kylo was familiar with.  Youth radiated from every fiber of him, an image Kylo hadn’t ever seen before.  Luke waved and Kylo cocked his head at the gesture.  He turned back around, and a young woman now stood where she had not first stood before.  Of everything around him, this young woman remained clear, as if she were real and with him now.  Kylo knew his search for answers lay with her and he followed her as she made her way into the forest._

_Right away, Kylo could tell this woman was not part of the official Jedi order.  Though force-sensitive, this woman had no knowledge of fighting.  She made frequent stops at different trees, plants, and bugs.  A journal remained in her hand and the young woman constantly jotted what Kylo could only assume were notes.  An uneasiness crept up on Kylo.  He scanned the trees but saw nothing.  The feeling didn’t dissipate.  There was a Dark disturbance in The Force here.  Kylo continued to follow the young woman, constantly looking over his shoulde,r and into the trees.  His vision companion seemed ignorant to the discomfort._

_As she stooped to look at a flower, Kylo looked out into the forest around them.  The discomfort increased to a searing pain.  He hunched over, his head buzzing with warning.  This was a vision though.  These images were memories.  His presence here wasn’t real, but the pain he felt certainly was.  Kylo took in a huge gasp of air and righted himself and found himself face to face with a horror._

_A zabrak male stared at him.  Sharp, pointed teeth, lurked behind lips pulled back in a predatory grin.  Black, ceremonial tattoos stood out from his pure white skin.  The zabrak passed right through Kylo and he turned, following him.  The young woman paused and turned around, but the moment of escape long passed.  The tugging sensation came again.  It ripped him from the moment and thrust him into a damp cave.  Several small candles illuminated the area, casting eerie shadows across the cave walls.  The young woman from earlier lay sprawled out on a mound of furs and blankets.  She was naked, and her skin was pocketed with fresh scars, cuts, and bruises.  Tears ran down her face as Kylo approached.  He noticed then, her hands, which were protectively wrapped around a swollen, pregnant belly._

_Again, he was tugged from the moment and thrown into a world of smoke and fire.  All round him lay rubble, fires in the distance, and smoke rising from the charred remains of whatever once stood here.  Stormtroopers rushed past and Kylo followed in their direction.  After moving a few steps, a wail of a child averted Kylo’s attention.  A large form sprang up from the rubble.  As it turned, he saw the form was that of The Supreme Leader and in his arms was a small child.  Before Kylo could press forward, he was tugged away and slammed back into his own body._

Kylo tried to sit up but arms encircled him.  Veigrid held him while he panted, sweat dripping down his face.

“Shhh.”  She whispered into his ear.  The sound seemed to calm him and Kylo’s breathing soon evened.  Veigrid removed her arms and Kylo tried to sit up, unsteadily at first, but then he righted himself and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Did you find your answers?” she asked.  Kylo laughed and shook his head.

“No.  The questions I originally had meant nothing within the context of the vision.”  Veigrid sat quietly and let him have his moment of madness.  Kylo rubbed at his face and pulled a little at his hair.  He suddenly went still, recollecting himself.  After a few, practiced breaths, Kylo uncurled himself and turned toward Veigrid.

“Am I worth that holocron?”  The question baffled Veigrid a moment, her mouth forming into an “o” but not emitting any sounds.

“Ben…no…I.”  She sat back on her heels before hauling herself to her feet.  “The holocron is that of my lover’s and I am its keeper.  All I can do is set up his test.  He will judge you worthy and then I am free to release the holocron into your possession.”

“After all that shit.”  Kylo let out an exasperated sigh before falling back on the stone.

“It is my greatest wish to transfer ownership of this holocron so that I may feel the burden lifted off my shoulders.”  Kylo stilled as one of her pale hands gently pushed his hair back and the tips of her fingers stroked his temple.  He adjusted his head to look up at her.

“Will I be the keeper if I am deemed worthy?”

“I am and will be the only keeper.  After me, the holocron belongs to you and you may do whatever you wish with it.”

“Who was it?” he asked.  “Who is this Sith Lord you loved so much?”

“Darth Kohva.”

Kylo lurched up.  “How old are you?”

“Older than I want to be.”  Kylo relaxed his shoulders and slumped forward a bit.  He pressed his hands against the cool stone and pushed himself up.  Kylo brushed the dust of his hands and moved toward her.

“And the rumor about all those children?  That can’t all be you?”  Veigrid smirked at the question.

“No, Ben Solo.  I mothered six of the several hundred of his children.  Three of which went on to become Sith Lords like their father.”  Kylo balked at the number she gave.

“That many?”  He asked, pondering the stamina the man must have had.

“Yes, he had that many.  Though, I was the one and only true companion of his.  The women who birthed all the others did so against their will.  Kohva believe he could take whatever he wanted.  Sometimes he started wars because he was bored.  Many times he took war bounty in the form of un-consenting women.  The six that I bore him were legally recognized.”  Veigrid moved away from the pool and approached the slanted stone slab.  Her fingers trailed along it passively.

“Kohva spread his seed wherever he could find a warm place to put it.  He fathered hundreds who I can only assume never knew their paternal lineage.”  Veigrid danced her fingertips along the stone with no sense of direction.  Kylo watched, hypnotized by her.

“What do I have to do to earn his holocron?”  Veigrid’s fingers stopped and she dropped her hand.

“You have to do the two things he loves most.”

“What is that?” Kylo asked hesitantly.  Veigrid made her way to the decagram.  Her bare feet crossed the barrier and she walked the circumference of the circle three times, chanting with each new rotation.  Her eyes glowed yellow and the decagram’s lines mimicked the same color.  Kylo approached the enclosed star but remained outside the barrier.  Veigrid stood in the middle of the star and the yellow of her eyes turned a deep red.  Her left hand shot up and from it, black lightening rocketed up and exploded in the sky.  Some came back down and marked the ground.  As he looked up, a black bolt shot down in the exact spot where he stood.

His body vibrated with the electrical shock of the Sith lightening, but this wasn’t meant to maim or kill.  It was a vessel.  A transport.  Kylo swayed in the spot he where he stood.  Something slipped from him.  His mind tried to reach out and grasp for control, but something held it back, like his entire being was a passenger in his own body.  Kylo sensed something else occupying his space.  No, it was someone else.  Fear would have taken hold but the visitor suppressed any feeling Kylo had.

His body suddenly stopped swaying but Kylo had nothing to do with it.  His body moved, a foot taking one step, then another.  Kohva occupied this body too and Kylo could do nothing but allow the intrusion.  He attempted to push back, but nothing broke through the haze that Kohva placed on his mind.

A young girl, hardly over the age of eighteen, huddled next to the stone slab.  Her white eyes seemed to plead at him, begging him to cease his advance.  In some known part of his mind, Kylo wanted to stop this, but Kohva’s hold suppressed all attempts Kylo made.  He wanted to scream.  This wasn’t him.  Though he could see through his eyes, Kylo was detached from the movement.  His hands grabbed at the girl pushing her down on the slab.  Kylo watched helplessly as his hands moved on their own accord, tearing away the girl’s dress and exposing her emaciated form.

Her arms swung out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself.  Her head violently snapped to the side as the back of his hand made contact with her face.  After that, the girl didn’t move.  She was unceremoniously tossed onto her stomach, her legs spread, leaving her exposed.  Kylo wept for the girl, and the violence his body released on her.  Kohva relentlessly rutted the girl over the stone.  Kylo could distantly hear the slap of his hips against the girls soft, round buttocks.  Her small hands clung to the sides of the stone.  She clung so tightly that the nails were splitting and rivulets of blood trickled down her arms and dripped off her elbow towards the ground.  Hot tears stained her face and Kohva bent Kylo’s body forward, probing his pink tongue out to lick them up.  A hint of salt reached Kylo, but it left him as soon as it came.

The thrusts became more erratic, and the girl openly cried, though the sound was muffled due to her sewn lips.  Kohva gripped the girl’s right shoulder with one hand, and the other clasped her hip.  He dug Kylo’s nails into her skin, dragging them across her flesh.  The poor girl’s cries were horrible and full of desolation. She gagged and chocked on the salvia, some of it trying to escape around the threads.  Kohva ignored the girls suffering and spent Kylo’s seed deep within her core.  As he held her tightly against Kylo’s spent cock, Kohva withdrew a long, bleached knife made of human bone.  The girl’s white eyes widened and she hysterically flung her arms around trying to drag herself way.  As the last of Kylo’s seed left his cock, Kohva slit the girl’s throat.  Black ichor gushed from the wound, splattering the stone and Kylo’s face.

Her limp body slipped off his softening cock and she landed in a heap.  Kohva moved Kylo’s body backward and away from the dead girl.  A thunderclap rumbled above him and the electrical shock of Sith lightening radiated through his body.  Kylo’s soul slammed into his mortal flesh and he took a large audible gasp.  Everything rushed back in one moment.  All his senses, emotions, and memories flew threw his mind in an endless barrage.  His eyes rolled back into his head and his back bent awkwardly turning his body into a tight crescent moon. 

Kohva used Kylo as a vessel, but those memories were his too.  Kylo let out a gurgled cry before he bent completely in the opposite direction, forehead touching the cool stone.  His arms draped around his head, his posture defeated and worn.  After Kylo returned to himself, the small time Kohva had with his physical form came to the forefront, and Kylo saw the world through the Sith Lords eyes.  Kylo howled into the stone beneath him as Kohva’s first thoughts of the girl pressed in on his mind.  He screamed for the way Kohva wanted to ruin the girl’s body.  He screamed for Kohva’s barbaric drive to take a life of something defenseless and pure.  He screamed for the pain between the girl’s legs that Kohva absorbed and used to power his carnal abuse of her small form.  He screamed for the dirty, sticky feeling crawling all over his skin.  Kylo screamed and screamed until his voice went hoarse.  He smacked his clenched fists against his head a few times, as if that would erase the corrupt images from his memory.

Kylo let out one final scream until he coughed blood and then went silent.  He took a moment to even his breathing before bringing himself up to set on his heels.  Turning his head to the right, toward the decagram, and found Veigrid collapsed in a heap in the middle.  She held herself up by her hands, and Kohva’s memory pulled at him, the one where Kohva had turned to stare directly at Veigrid as he pounded the abused girl.

“Am I worthy yet?”  he asked.  Veigrid burst into tears and crawled toward him.  As she moved closer, parts of her turned translucent.  Her fingers went first, and Veigrid brought them up to her face, examining them.  Veigrid’s easy grew large and she tapped at her throat.  Kylo shook his head at her.

“No more tricks.” He said, beginning to slump forward again.  Veigrid waved her transparent hand at him and rigorous pointed at her throat.

“It’s inside.  Here.”  Veigrid motioned again and then to the girl.  Kylo shifted and moved over the dead girl’s body.  Her legs and arms bent at odd angles, the torn dress laying in a crumpled pile next to her gaping neck, where it absorbed the black blood beginning to try.  Kylo stepped closer and peered down.  Within the open neck wound something shimmered.  Kylo reached his hands into the open wound, probing, and touching something soft and triangular.

Kylo retreated and looked down at the blood-soaked holocron in his palm.  As he turned back to Veigrid, he saw a second figure.  Veigrid stood upright and embraced tightly by muscled red arms.  A Sith Pureblood, Darth Kohva, stared back at Kylo with an unchecked viciousness.  Darth Kohva’s skin was that of a crimson-hue.  His predatory profile was accompanied by a pair of cheek tendrils that hung from high cheekbones.  Kohva had no hair, but there were six black horns on his head that gave him the appearance of wearing a crown.  The look Kohva gave him could only be described as jealousy.  Veigrid was now as translucent at Kohva and she rested her head on his chest, giving Kylo a small wave before the two of them dissolved.

Kylo looked down at the holocron in his right hand.  The black crystal, that stored all knowledge, and powered the pyramid was clearly visible at the apex.  The rest of it was solid black and held to obvious markings.  It looked so simple and small in his hands.  He wondered if everything that happened was even worth the effort.

Somehow, Kylo managed to make his way back down the stone staircase and into the dead canyon.  The most Kylo could manage was a hobble, but he carried on.  As he rounded the bend, his _Upsilon_ -class command shuttle came into view.  It hovered over the canyon and in its shadow waited Criedan, Tezhul, Irgrith, the girl who escorted him, and the battle droid.  If he had had the energy, Kylo would have celebrated.  Instead, he collapsed to his knees, everything around him darkening.  He saw the blurry form of his Knights approached, but that was all he saw before the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on Story:  
> *Sith Necromancy, and the first of Sith magic, was predominantly used by the original Sith species (Darth Kohva is part of this species). My first introduction to the undead in the Star Wars universe was Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber. Mentions of necromancy have been speckled throughout some of the books. It's a thing.  
> *If you want more about Darth Malgus read Deceived by Paul S. Kamp.  
> *If you want more about Darth Bane read the trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn.  
> *Sith holocrons are devices where the Sith Lord stores all their information so that it can be used by future dark-side users.  
> *If anyone is interested in a story about Veigrid and Darth Kohva, let me know. I think that could be interesting to explore.  
> *For clarification: the vision Kylo was in is of Maeve's parents. I will have a prequel story for them after this work is complete.
> 
> If you had thoughts (or feelings) leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, and/or share.  
> Leading feedback will better help me create quality content, so please interact with me.  
> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
> Tumblr: https://darthglitterfanfiction.tumblr.com/


	4. Bloodstream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: Explicit language, sexual situations, graphic depictions of blood and violence.
> 
> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.
> 
> Pronunciation (English Phonetic Spelling):  
> Maeve: [meɪv]  
> Kracov: [krækɒv]  
> Eda: [idə]  
> Crurenus: [krurenus]  
> Cinegard: [sɪngard]  
> Jada: [dʒədə]  
> Zabraltium: [zæbraɔliəm]  
> Icrixus: [ikreəs]  
> Tealp: [tɛlp]  
> Zunga: [zungə]  
> Uti: [juti]  
> If there are any names that you might struggle with please leave a note in the comments and I will add it to this list.
> 
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourage it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

 

"I can see you struggling

Boy, don't hurt your brain

Thinking what you're gonna say

'Cause everything's a game

Always trying to calculate

Trying to look smart but not too smart

To threaten anything they say"

 _Brain_ \- Banks

 

* * *

 

 

“My dear, please. Please! Come in. Come in.  Take a look around!  You will find little to object to.  I firmly believe it!  No doubt here, nope, none at all.  Only the best you see.”  For the hundredth time that morning Maeve listened as Solomon Bots called her “my dear” and practically drooled at every chance to impress her.

A crisp breeze, and the overzealous smile of Mr. Bots, greeted them upon arrival at Cineguard’s spaceport.  His white trousers were perfectly ironed, but rolled up on the bottom, clearly too long for such a small man.  The three top buttons were undone and revealed a chest covered in orange, wiry hair.  That same hair sprouted from the man’s head as well as the beard he sported.  The top of his head came up to the top of her breasts, and Maeve found herself looking down whenever she needed to make eye contact.  It was like talking to a small child, yet one with a booming voice and a sensual flare.  He’d point his polished wooden cane at anything he wanted Maeve to notice, which was almost everything, and purposefully fell behind to stare directly at Eda’s ass.  He made a great show of it, clearly not caring if they noticed or not.  Solomon Bots’ bushy eyebrows wagged up and down whenever Eda turned back to scowl. 

A slave girl walked in his shadow, keeping her head pointed towards the ground, and eyes averted away.  Golden hair, pulled into a messy bun, rested at the crown of her head, and stray strands framed her face.  Her dress, if Maeve could even call it that, connected to the gold collar around her neck by two thin strings.  One string hung on either side of her, and connected to each end of the dress.  The dress itself, a mere sheet of fabric, looked slightly dirty and worn.  A few yellowing bruises poked out from underneath the garment.

Four armored guards escorted them to Mr. Bots’ personal craft, with a frown plastered on each of their faces.  The group flew over the city, towards the Western Districts, and Mr. Bots directed their attention to the monuments, museums, parks, markets, and other noticeable landmarks.  They held little interest to Maeve.  She didn’t make the trip to Cineguard for her ear to be talked off by this orange fool.  She gave her best fake smile and thanked him.  Anything worth actual note, construction of new buildings, stock prices, and the like, were all met with Maeve’s smoothly enthusiastic, “If The Supreme Leader were here with us, he would be pleased.”  With each utterance, Solomon Bots face would light up and turn slightly pink.  This game was all too easy for her to play, as it required little of her attention, and Mr. Bots seemed intent on filling up the time.

The attractive officer from her escort shuttle, and one stormtrooper, accompanied them.  The First Order base, on the outskirts of the metropolis, sent a couple more staff members ahead to their hotel.  They sat silently in the back, with the armored guards, and kept their eyes on Maeve.

Now, Mr. Bots ushered her, Eda, and RD-53 into the flat they’d occupy during their stay.  Like everything else, the flat oozed luxury and extravagance.  The floors were perfectly smooth marble and cut from the quarries in the southern hemisphere.  Gold embellishments touched everything in the room, from the table and sofa, to the walls and windows, and created a luminous glow as the sunshine hit it.   Natural resources were abundant on Crurenus, and like Mr. Bots, the wealthy flocked to the planet to snatch themselves up any land they could get their hands on.  Of course, with great greed comes great poverty.  The city hosted a large district for the upper class, but the poorer sectors vastly outnumbered the nicer ones.  Mr.Bots personal craft did its best to avoid those areas, but Maeve caught a glimpse of some of it.  The areas were unmistakable by the dense smog hovering among the buildings.

Everything in the richer districts gleamed to polished perfection.  Streets showed no signs of decay or wear, buildings jutted toward the sky and glistened in the morning sun, and the people walking about wore impeccable clothes and carried themselves with an abrasive confidence.  To Maeve, it stunk of arrogance and overindulgence.  The sterile environment of _Supremacy_ came to mind, and though both were spotless in presentation, Maeve knew something darker lurked behind the splendor.

Maeve strolled through the flat, nodding every once in a while, and thanked Solomon Bots for his generosity and kindness.  The words ground themselves in her mind, but Maeve had to fake it, no matter how much she loathed the formality.  Mr. Bots seemed eager to stick around, maybe hoping for Maeve to shower him with more praise.  That was hardly the case though.  He deterred on his feet, nearly bouncing back and forth, almost bursting with energy.  The man wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon.  His attachment ate at the little time she had, and his lingering irritated her. 

The formal garbage, like dress shopping, and overseeing the progress of the base, was of little importance.  Snoke would have sent someone to gather reports of its progress, and if Maeve needed new clothes for a certain occasion, Snoke would simply have it all brought to _Supremacy_ instead of sending her off somewhere.  The real reason was the mission.

“You’ve been so gracious.”  Maeve delivered her best flirty smile and titled her head just a bit to give the slightest fain of innocence.  Mr. Bots sucked up the attention and beamed at her.

“Why of course my dear, truly.  I am the one most honored by your presence.  It is humbling to have The First Order reach out to me.  Most humbling.”  Maeve inwardly grimaced but kept her face the same.

“That will be all Solomon Bots.  I will call upon you if needed.”  Mr.  Bots gave a couple quick bows.

“Of course, my dear.  Of course!  Is there anything else I can do for you?  Anything at all?  Just say the word and I will have it done.”  Maeve’s smile dropped and she gave Eda a glance out of the corner of her eye.  It was then that she noticed the slave girl hovering by the door.  Maeve cleared her throat and brought the smile back.

“I want your slave.”  Mr. Bots straightened.

“I’m so sorry, but…but she is…not for sale.”  Spittle flew from his mouth, and he covered up several wheezes with coughing.

“I’m not asking to buy her.”

“I’m sorry.  I…I don’t understand.”  Maeve’s smile never faltered.  She closed the gap between them and loomed over him.

“I think you most certainly do.”  Maeve looked over at the slave girl who was now staring straight at her, mouth slightly ajar.  “Come here girl.” Her hand beckoned at her and the girl took a hesitant step forward, staring at her master, asking for permission.  Solomon Bots turned a shade of crimson.

“Come now.”  Maeve took a few steps in front of Mr. Bots, cutting of any retort that would have left his mouth.  The girl, in almost a run, bolted to her and moved toward Eda.  Mr. Bots made an attempt to step around Maeve, trying to intercept the girl, but the stormtrooper firmly tugged at his shoulder, holding him in place.  Eda gently pushed the girl behind her and stared, cold-eyed at Mr. Bots.  Maeve, now satisfied, turned on Mr. Bots, surprising him.

“Enjoy the rest of your day Mr. Bots.”  Maeve dipped her head in a small gesture of dismissal. 

“Long live The Supreme Leader.”  Her gracious smile returned and Solomon Bolts returned a mumbled one back at her before taking a deep bow, his head almost touching the floor, and sweeping out of the room in a flurry.  The stormtrooper followed with the officer right on his heels.

As the door shut behind him, Maeve turned around, releasing a huge sigh.

“Fuck the stars and all the gods.” Maeve rubbed her neck.  RD-53 held a cup of coffee out to her, and she took it, sipping from it greedily.  The slave girl looked at the ground but kept glancing up, sneaking looks at Maeve.  Maeve didn’t really want the girl, but, she loathed the man, though she’d known him for a mere hour.  Taking his punching bag cut a good deal away from his ego, and Maeve silently trumpeted her own horn.

‘RD, please get this young lady out of that poor excuse of a dress and into a bath.  While you’re at it, attempt to remove that degrading collar.”  Maeve glanced at Eda who glared at her, not saying a word.

“With everything in the closet I’m sure there is something more appropriate we could dress her in.”  Eda’s eyes narrowed, but she stalked into the bedroom leaving Maeve alone to watch the city out the window and drink her cooling coffee.

* * *

 

Dress shopping had been nothing short of tedious, with every approved location bringing out gaudy pieces that Maeve balked at, and Eda snorted at.  She ended up buying nothing, and told them what _she_ wanted and expected it done in the next couple of days.  Annoyed, Maeve insisted on enjoying the cool afternoon with some summer melon sorbet.  Maeve, Eda, and RD-53 lounged under a couple trees, while the slave girl sat awkwardly next to them, unsure of how to behave.  Two stormtroopers stood off to the left, clutching their blasters loosely, and looking bored.  The handsome young officer from earlier stood at attention off to their right observing the passing crowd with another officer the base sent over.  The two of them leaned back and forth to the other, whispering in low voices.  A few times, Maeve heard a laugh coming from their direction.

Maeve sucked the slightly melted sorbet from her spoon, her red lips moving over it lazily.  She noticed the officer peering over his shoulder to look at her.  At that, she continued, and kept an eye on him.  Eda chuckled, and Maeve frowned at her.

“What’s so funny?”  Eda shrugged.

“Ask him on a date.”  Maeve balked at her.

“Don’t be silly.  You know, as well as I, that father would lose his mind.  Can you imagine the report?”  Maeve poked her spoon in Eda’s direction before bringing it down for another scoop.

“ _I don’t know why you insisted I buy one of these.  I can’t eat it_.”  RD-53 captured their attention and the two of them turned to look.

“You said it looked good and you commented on the color.  I remember you calling it ‘pretty’.”  RD-53 let out a few annoyed beeps.

“ _I’m a droid.  You can’t take anything human I say seriously.”_   Maeve snatched the cup out of RD’s mechanical rose gold hands.  RD-53 let out a surprised yelp, and few suppressed beeps, before leaning fully against the tree and sulking.  Maeve thrusted it into the slave girl’s hands and the girl almost dropped it in surprise.  The girl gawked at it.

“Sorry, I haven’t…” but the girl trailed off and didn’t finish.  RD-53 and Eda did a splendid job in cleaning the girl up.  Her golden hair framed her face in tight curls and the dress she wore covered her appropriately.  RD-53 managed in removing the collar, but it left a nasty looking red ring behind.  Though removed, the mark clearly identified the girl’s past.

“What’s your name?”  The girl looked up, a bit surprised.

“Jada.”

“Is that your given name?  Or is it the name your master assigned you?”  The girl shook her head.

“It’s my given name.  I was born to a slave.  My mother’s master showed her no kindness, except in what she’d get to name me.”

“Do you want to keep it?”  The girl nodded.

“Nice to meet you Jada.”  Maeve gave her a little wink.  Jada blushed and took a tentative bite of the sorbet.  Her eyes grew wide and she devoured it quickly, practically licking the bowl.

The First Order saw slavery as a simple cog in the great machine of the galaxy.  Snoke gave them to her as gifts starting on her fourteenth birthday, and initially, Maeve refused each one, thinking he’d just release them.  How naïve she’d been.  All who she refused were sent to mines or pleasure houses.  In some cases, Snoke had given them away as gifts and favors to high ranking officials within The First Order, as well as those he did business with.

When the information was brought to her attention, Maeve never refused a slave from her father again.  As she matured, and Snoke placed more duties on her shoulders, Maeve turned to them for help.  Most of them were illiterate.  Cultured slaves were considered high risk, and masters and slavers would breed them so that their offspring could remain helpless.  Maeve knew that rejecting them would only send them back into a world of terror and a constant state of fear.  Instead, Maeve worked to give each of them a proper education.  After Maeve was sufficiently satisfied with their progress, she’d send them out around the galaxy, far away from the clutches of The First Order.  Several, after being sent away, would start new lives.  But Snoke eventually caught on.  She had to keep them close and find instances to “lose” them somewhere.  She managed to relocate four of them, and for their safety, never made contact.  The rest of them were scattered around the galaxy covering Republic dealings and reporting back to her.

Maeve, RD-53, Eda, and Jada lounged under the tree for a little longer, sorbet long eaten, and watched the people passing.  Women mostly moved by them; nearly all of them young.  They were probably wives, mistresses, and daughters of the wealthy men.  They carried themselves gracefully and bright smiles appeared on every face.  A facade, Maeve thought, for many of them probably did what they needed to out of survival.  In a way, that’s what she had done wasn’t it?  Made herself useful to Snoke and now she couldn’t run away.

The officer made his way toward them, and Maeve stood to greet him.  He gave a slight bow.  The sunlight created a pattern on him through the leaves, catching his hair, eyes, and the embellishments on his uniform.  They’d sparkle from time to time as the leaves moved in the wind.

“If you’re ready, we can head to the base.”  Maeve nodded, but said nothing.  They stared at each other for a moment too long and the officer licked the tip of his thumb and brought it to her cheek, rubbing it gently.

“You had sorbet on your face.”  Maeve almost melted right there, as if she’d never been touched by a man before.  She wanted to smack herself.  Instead, she blushed and started walking in the direction of the base, leaving the rest of the group to catch up.

* * *

 

A quiet sound of a drill, and the buzz of a small torch were the only sounds in the room.  Maeve sat at the dining room table in their flat and made a few last adjustments to the square disc in front of her.  Two inches on all four sides and solid black.

“RD, come over here.  I think I’ve got it.”  The rose-gold droid hobbled over.

_“You think? Or you know?”_

“I don’t, but we’ll know when I’ve added it to your hardware.”

_“I’m highly skeptical of the chances.”_

“Open your back.”

_“Open my what!  This is not behavior The Supreme Leader would approve-“_

“Stop being a sass.  I want to get this done.”  RD’s back panel popped open and Maeve reached to hook the connection cable to the disc.  She tapped the corner of the square and a small holographic screen came up.  She found the upload, and began.  RD-53 shook and stilled.  Three dots appeared, disappeared, and reappeared, before signaling a complete upload.  Maeve removed the cord and RD-53’s panel closed, sealing up completely, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

“ _Oh..oh my.”_   RD turned around.  Her two lights for eyes moving back and forth.

“Is it all there?”

 _“It most certainly is.”_   RD moved to one side of the room, and then back, pacing.

“What’s my name?”

_“Mistress Maeve Kracov.”_

“Not that one.”

 _“Yes, that one.  You’re not in the decoy clothes yet.  I can’t confuse myself now_.”

 

That evening Maeve made three visits to three different thugs.  The first two were dead ends, and Maeve sent both back to The Force.  The third, gave her a name and a place, in exchange for his life.  Maeve didn’t grant it, and he too rested where all the dead go.

Maeve and RD -53 stood outside the nightclub _Proxima._ A line formed at the door with eager city goers seeking a chance inside.  RD-53 hacked into _Proxima’s_ system, and reserved Maeve’s alias, Echo Fairfall, a spot on the exclusive list.  A bouncer stood next to the doorman checking names.

The artifact, as Snoke’s instructions stated, described it as radiating pure force energy that she could feel if she touched it.  Snoke suspected a sale, and the leads he had confirmed this.  An auction was to take place on Crurenus, featuring illegal treasures from all over the galaxy, and Snoke sent Maeve to find it.  The third thug, named Anto Andjar as the host of the sale, but that the treasures were not his.  Andjar worked for a Hutt, possibly the notorious Zunga Uti, but the thug could neither confirm nor deny it.  Uti might simply be a perspective buyer, and the thug’s information was wrong.  The information about where to find Andjar was not wrong, and Maeve said a silent thank you to the now dead thug.

Even late at night the city buzzed, regardless of the district.  Maeve replaced her interrogation attire with a red dress made of chiffon.  It swayed around her legs like waves giving her the illusion of floating when she walked.  She covered her unusual eye with a gray contact and put her distinct hair underneath an icy blonde wig.  She looked nothing like herself.  That was the point.

Maeve made no effort to cover up RD, but RD’s goal didn’t consist of the droid accompanying her in the club. RD was there to patrol around the edges, cut into card and dice games, and seek out other droids that may be separated from their mortal companions.  RD entered first, and Maeve followed close behind.  The club was surprisingly calmer than she first believed.  On a stage a human girl crooned a ballad slow and sad.  Her body ground up and down the mic stand like she was dancing with a lover.  On the floor, bodies moved against each other, and smoke hung above them.  Maeve scanned the area searching for the man she sought.  To the right of the stage, Anto Andjar lounged in the comfort of his private balcony.

Maeve headed toward the stairs and up to balcony level.  She passed several closed doors that led to private balconies, but her target was at the end of the hall.  A fearsome man stood before the door.  He studied her as she approached.  A blush bloomed on her face as the man’s eyes lingered at her breasts.  Gray, shoulder-length hair framed a lined face of a man that could easily be twice her age.  Hooded green eyes, set charmingly in their sockets, met her gaze and held Maeve in place.  A scar ran along the left side of his chin, slightly pink, and gave his face a wildness.  There’s something enticing about him, a knowing that lurks behind those eyes, and Maeve made note to dig up information on him.  His large, muscled arms crossed over his chest, and the beginnings of a tattoo started at his elbows but his black shirt covered the rest.

“State your business.”  His husky voice surprised her and Maeve faltered a moment before finding herself.

“I’m here to see Anto Andjar.” The guard remained impassive.

“No admittance.”  Maeve titled to the left a bit to look around him and found the door closed.  She couldn’t make a break for it.  She considered smashing the guy in the face, but the odds were not in her favor.  The element of surprise might delay him, but not for very long.  She put on her best smile and let the front of her dress droop a bit, exposing the tops of her breasts.

“I do believe I’m expected.  Why don’t you ask?  Couldn’t hurt.”  The man frowned and held a finger up to his ear.

“There’s a lady out here claiming you’re expecting her.”  Maeve didn’t hear the response but the man turned to open the door.  Most of his frame covered the doorway and Maeve had to squeeze by.  As she passed, the back of her hand brushed against the rough fabric of the man’s pants and her nostrils filled with the scent of cigar smoke.  Maeve didn’t look back at the man but she felt his eyes on her.  As she heard the click of the door, her shoulders relaxed, and she surveyed the space around her.

In the back of the private balcony candles rested in glass containers and casted an eerie glow.  Stage lights from below illuminated the front where the balcony looked over the stage, but the floor remained mostly invisible, giving the space immense privacy.  A white lounge sofa faced the balcony’s front.  Anto Andjar sat in the middle of it, arms stretched across the back and his head tipped slightly to the right.  As she approached the huge lounge sofa, a woman sat up.  She wiped the side of her mouth and glared at Maeve.  As she came round the couch, Anto greeted her with a lazy smile while he struggled at zipping his pants.

Tousled black hair fell awkwardly around a thin, charming face, giving him a boyish appearance.  Glistening black eyes devoured her through the strands.  He wore no shirt.  The chiseled abs stretched out and rippled when he moved to sit forward and address her. 

“What a ravishing surprise.”  The nasally voice contradicted every one of his physical features.    Maeve almost gagged, but instead returned a smile.  The girl that sucked him off placed her hand protectively on his groin, telling Maeve silently to back off.  Another girl sat between his legs, and formed perfect lines of Spice on the table with a simple steel knife.  He leaned forward, stuck his tongue down the girl’s throat, and then snorted up the line. He fell back into the couch and let out a large sigh.

Maeve didn’t come here to play games, snort Spice, or waste her time.  She needed Anto alone, but Maeve held no desire to take two more lives tonight.  As the girl between his legs sat up so she could snort a line herself, Maeve grasped a fistful of her hair, and hauled her up.  The girl let out a shriek and clawed at her.  Maeve tossed the girl back toward the door, some of the hair remaining in her hand.  Anto let out a barking laugh; clearly a manifestation of the drugs.  The other one curled back into the sofa and Maeve backhanded her.  She whipped her head around and charged at Maeve with a growl.  Maeve let her fist fly, connecting with the girl’s nose.  Blood spurted and the bone made a ghastly crunch.  She shrieked too, and ran from the booth, tripping on the other girl on her way out.  The other managed to follow behind and push pass the guard who looked after them in shock.   He barged into the room but stopped abruptly when he heard Anto laughing.  The man shook his head and made a quick exit.  Maeve sent out a silent apology to the two women she’d rudely smacked around.

Anto’s body covered the whole seat, his chest heaving from all the laughter, and now he lay there hacking and coughing.  Spice could do a number on anyone, and Maeve prayed that she’d be able to pull the information she needed.  She nestled into the sofa and licked the blood off her knuckles.  One by one she went.  Anto Andjar chuckled here and there but mostly kept his eyes locked on her tongue moving along the ridge of bones.  Maeve dipped her right index finger lightly into the Spice, and brought her finger to Anto’s mouth.  He opened, and she moved it along his tongue.  He closed around and sucked it off.  A low, wet pop sounded as her finger exited his mouth.

“My prayers have been answered.”

“Have you prayed for me?”  Maeve put on the sweetest voice she could manage.

“I’ve asked for a woman who’d fight for my attention.  And here you are.”  _Lucky Me._   Maeve placed her hand on his left knee and massaged his thigh, up and down, up and down.

“What do you want?” His head lolled back and forth, before he looked at her directly.  “You come in here,” he gestured around erratically, “and beat the shit out of these two nice girls.”  Maeve gripped his crotch feeling Anto’s hardening cock under the material.

“I want to have a good time and I came to the only man who could give it to me.”  His grin widened wickedly.  He clasped her hip and tugged her toward him to the point that Maeve nearly sat in his lap.  Their lips met, and Maeve put passion behind those kisses to entice him further.  The Spice lingered on his tongue, and he smelled of dirt and sweat.  Even in his state of Spice euphoria, his kisses and movements were that of a sober man.  His tongue probed and she opened her lips, letting him in.  She sucked on his bottom lip, giving it a little bite.  He chuckled and broke from her.  Anto’s fingers brushed her hair back, and she leaned into it.

His fingers trailed along her neck and then were replaced by his lips that gave small, light kisses.  Maeve caught his face with her hand, and pulled it away.  The hand on her hip tightened, but Maeve didn’t wince.  Her tongue darted out and tasted his lips before she pushed back on him, startling him.  Then she moved.

Maeve crawled along his body, nearly knocking him flat on his back.  When their eyes became level, she knew she had him.  Anto Andjar was used to being the dominate one.  Women came to him, and held on to every word, waiting for a command.  Maeve only took orders from one man, and Anto Andjar was certainly not him.

“I’m in the market and I heard you knew about a sale.”  Maeve licked up Anto’s body, starting from the rim of his pants, along his stomach, chest, and neck.  She ended at his chin where she came off of it and he groaned.

“You’re going to leave me a message with a time and place of this sale.  After, I will make you a very happy man.”  Anto practically came in his pants.  Maeve daintily reached in between her breasts and pulled out a small piece of paper.  It contained the location he’d leave his message at.

“Leave your message here.”  She set it on the table.  She picked up the knife the girl used to make lines, and stabbed it into the wood, pinning the piece of paper there.  Maeve bent forward, and he went to meet her, expecting a kiss.  Instead, she bit down on his bottom lip drawing blood.  Maeve abruptly pulled back and slammed him into the couch.  With a flare, Maeve made her exit from the room blowing a kiss toward the guard on her way out.  RD-53 fell into step beside her on the floor and they left _Proxima_ behind.

* * *

 

The message came two days later.

Maeve updated the data to RD-53’s system of all the potential gangsters and crime cartels that may have a hand in the sale.  Society elite were not excluded from the list, as many dipped their toes in the black market looking for items to give them the appearance of wealth and prestige.  The note listed Icrixus District, one of the border districts between the wealthy and lower classes, as the place of sale.  That afternoon they’d make their way to Icrixus and wait at the fountain in the market square for their escort.  From there, they’d be led to their destination.

Maeve selected a black leather pant, a loose royal blue blouse, and a black coat that stopped just above her ankles.  Four-inch heeled ankle boots accompanied the look as a way to add some height to her small stature.  The last touches were the blonde wig and gray contact from the other night.  She checked herself in the hallway mirror before returning to the front room for RD-53.

“You ready?”

“ _Yes Lady Fairfall.”_

“I’m surprised RD.  You used my decoy name for the first time.”

“ _You’re in your decoy clothes.  I strictly remember saying I’d call you by your decoy name in your decoy clothes.”_

Maeve rolled her eyes and turned to Eda who reached out and adjusted her coat.

“Be careful and return to me one in piece.”  Eda kissed each cheek and then they embraced.

“What will you be doing while I’m gone?”

“Worrying about you,” Eda huffed, “and teaching Jada her letters.”  Papers, books, pens, and ink littered the lounge table.  Jada sat on the floor in front of it, her brow creased in concentration, and lips pulled inward.

“RD can contact you or The First Order in an emergency.”  Eda didn’t appear reassured.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t have to come to that.”  Maeve turned away and walked toward RD-53.

“Have everything?”  The droid turned around and her back panel opened up revealing a pair of blasters.  Zabraltium panels lined RD-53’s insides as a way to cover-up the blasters from possible scans of the droid’s body.  The panel popped back into place and Maeve gave it a pat.

“ _Ladies first.”_ RD gestured to the open door and they headed out.

 

 

Icrixus bordered three other districts.  West Tealp, an upper-class sector, bordered Icrixus’s entire western end.  Ta-lara and Du-lara covered the northern and southern regions and met halfway on Icrixus’s eastern end.  Maeve and RD-53 crossed into Icrixus from West Tealp at a border crossing, where First Order and local government monitored the movements of the citizens crossing between the two areas.  Neither party gave them a second glance and they maneuvered to the fountain uninterrupted.

A plain column, crafted from smooth rock, stood in the center of a square pool filled with crystal clear water.  At the bottom of the pool, a mosaic depicted a great battle scene of Sith and Jedi.  The water rippled across the surface as new water entered the pool and obscured some of the smaller details of the piece.  They lingered next to the edge in silence.  Keeping her eyes on the crowd, Maeve watched for a sign of an escort.  She felt a light _tap tap_ on her shoulder.  She looked up at RD-53.  The droid nudged her head toward the opposite side of the fountain and Maeve turned to look in the direction RD motioned.

A red Nikto glared at them from across the fountain.  The leathery skin looked cracked under the sun and its black eyes narrowed.  It stalked around the square base, making direct eye contact with them, and took off at a brisk pace, looking behind to signal a follow.  They meandered around hordes of people looking to sell wares, food, and even themselves if anyone would have them.  Maeve ducked around them or RD pushed them unceremoniously out of their path.  The Nikto broke for a narrow alley.  A few beggars held out metal tins and a human woman pulled up her dress at the Nikto trying to entice him to buy twenty minutes with her.  As the Nikto passed, and Maeve came up behind him, the woman dropped the hem and spat at the ground.

The Nikto reached the end of the alley first, where it waited for them, staring out into the crowded street.  Maeve came up to his right and RD stood just a fraction behind the pair.  Stone and packed earth made up the street.  A sharp contrast to the paved roads of the wealthy districts.  An opening appeared within the mass, and the three of them went single file toward the other side of the busy street.  A familiar face greeted her, and she laughed.

“So we meet again.”

The guard from the other night leaned on a wooden barrel, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.  A small air-borne droid hovered next to him.  The Nikto grunted and passed by the man, knocking the beads at the door away, and entering the building.

“That’s Grusk.”  His thumb pointed toward the empty doorway.  “Doesn’t say much, but he’s as fearless as they come.”

Maeve genuinely smiled then.  The guard cleared his throat and ran a hand threw his gray hair.  He gripped the strands and then abruptly pulled his hand away sticking it out towards her.

“The name’s Bone.”  Maeve took his hand and gave it a firm shake.

“Echo”

“I know.  I mean, the boss man, Anto, had me look you up.”  The roster at _Proxima_ popped into her head.  “You made quite an impression on him.  Hasn’t stopped talking about ya since.”

“Your boss man will be disappointed when he hears I haven’t said a thing about him.”  Bone chuckled.

“I won’t tell.  The man moves through women quickly.  No offense.”

“None taken.”  Bone bit at his bottom lip, the end of his scar bobbing as he tugged.

“Sorry if I intimidated you at the nightclub.  Anto always has a woman on his arm when he heads to his balcony.  I wasn’t expecting you to walk up like that.”

“Like what?”

“Well. With confidence.  Most of these women he hangs with are addicts.  They can hardly form a proper sentence.  You were stone cold sober.   Threw me for a goddamn loop.”  A light pink formed at the edges of his cheeks and he let out a nervous laugh.

They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment before RD-53 came up to Maeve’s side.  She forgot all about RD standing behind her.

“ _Lady Fairfall, we are running late.”_

“Apologies for holding you up.  I’ll need to pat ya down and scan the droid.”

“Yeah.  Of course.”

Bone approached her and gently grasped the back of her head.  His fingers massaged along her scalp and traced the contours of her ear.  He brushed the wig’s hair off her shoulders and examined her ears for a piece.  His lips were closer than necessary and his warm breath tickled her neck.  The slightest wisp of cigar smoke filled her nostrils and she took a deep breath in.  His hands moved from her ears and down toward her shoulders.  They moved along, slowly smoothing out the fabric of her coat, searching for anything abnormal.  He brought them back up and placed his strong, rough hands inside her coat.  They easily fit around her ribcage and the thumbs brushed gently between her breasts.  He worked his way down touching every curve of her body.  When he approached her hips, he bent into a crouch.  Both hands wrapped around her upper thigh and his right hand lingered dangerously close to her now warming folds.  After searching both legs he languidly brought himself to his full height.  Neither had broken eye contact.

Several passersby stopped and gawked at the pair.  A few hooted and jeered.

“Oi! Fuck off will ya!”  Bone bellowed at them.  RD-53 clutched Maeve’s wrist and tugged her away.

“Scan clear Rooter?”  The hovering droid beeped in approval.  Bone waved them in.  Maeve looked back this time and he stared back.  His posture drooped as the beads settled behind her.

Maeve and RD entered into an atrium decorated with fresco and tile.  The ceiling featured different scenes of the Old Republic and Maeve stared up at it in awe.  The fresh colors sparkled in the light and she had to refocus her attention.  RD tapped her head in the exact spot where they had hidden a recorder.  Someone with sensitive hearing might have better luck at understand all the individual voices.  Maeve knew she couldn’t keep up and thought ahead.

A nasally voice carried over all the others.  Maeve spotted Anto Andjar who looked deep in conversation with a pair of human males.  RD bumped into her and Maeve looked up at the droid in annoyance.  Her annoyance quickly faded though as RD bent her metal head to Maeve’s level.

“ _I don’t want to alarm you, but you’re the only female here.”_

Maeve darted her eyes around the room noticing that several groups had stopped their conversations to stare in her direction.  Anto waved his arms in a wide arch, like he was explaining something spectacular, and looked directly at her.  His hands dropped and the two men listening to him looked in the direction that had captured his attention.  A firm hand clasped her left buttock at that moment and Anto broke off from his companions, storming toward whoever had placed a hand on her.

“I thought you said the entertainment wouldn’t arrive until later.” A scarred face sneered at her.  The hulking man nuzzled her neck and breathed in her scent.  He smelled of fuel and rank body odor.  Maeve gagged in revulsion.  She pulled away, but the man held fast.

“Where you going pretty thing?”

“Get yur’ hands off her Grim.”  Bone loomed over the man and Grim, as the scarred man was called, let go of her arm.

“Challenging me for the paid whore?  I thought you turned your nose up at gutter snakes.”  Bone responded by wrapping a hand around Grim’s throat and lifting him off the ground.  Grim’s feet dangled above the tile floor and his hands clawed at Bone’s deathly grip but it made no difference.

“Drop him Bone.”  Bone let go of Grim’s throat at Anto’s command.  Grim landed on the ground in a heap.  He sprang up and whirled on Anto, shoving his finger in the man’s chest.

“What the bloody fuck!  When did you fucking caring about your sluts Anto?”  Grim hurled spit into Anto’s face and the entire room went silent.  Anto flicked it away apathetically.

“Becoming soft are ya?  Is it because you’re fucking gutter snakes like this one?”  Grim let out a hearty laugh at Anto’s silence.

“It fucking is isn’t-“

The point of a blade burst out from the top of Grim’s head.  The blood glistened in the light.  Gurgled noise left Grim’s mouth and his hands brushed against the knife weakly. He stilled and slumped forward.  Anto removed the blade he’d stuck up through Grim’s open mouth and wiped the blood on his pant leg.  Bone gripped the back of Grim’s shirt and dragged the dead man off.

Typically, Maeve would defend herself, but in this room, among all these men, they knew her as Echo Fairfall, not Maeve Kracov.  Revealing her physical prowess to any of these men could be fatal to her escape if things went south.  Only Anto had seen that side of her, but he was high on Spice at the time, and she wondered if he remembered.  Regardless, Maeve needed to keep them all in the dark as long as possible.

“Are you alright?”  Sober Anto, and High Anto, were polar opposites but Maeve didn’t know which one she liked least.  She clung to him and pushed herself into his arms.  He gladly wrapped them around her and planted a light kiss on her forehead.

“Now that you’re here, I am.”  RD-53’s two orbs for eyes rolled in opposite directions within the black, horizontal screen that cut through the middle of her head.  Even her droid heard the ridiculousness of her words.  Anto released her and turned to address the crowd.

“I’d like to take a moment to welcome all of you, even after that unfortunate incident.  The buyers can make their way through those double doors”, he pointed towards a set of white wooden doors on the far wall, “and take your seats.  The rest of you will stay out here.  You’re free to roam the atrium and the garden to your left.  Entertainment and refreshments will soon follow.”  The crowd erupted in loud applause before breaking apart and moving to their destinations.  Anto wrapped his arm around Maeve’s waist and he led her toward the white, double doors.  Two men on either side opened the doors as the pair approached and they crossed the threshold.

Once inside, Maeve drifted out of Anto’s arms and looked up at the ceiling.  The fresco continued on with more scenes of The Old Republic.  Maeve bumped into objects as she tried to study it.  Her efforts made Anto laugh and she devilishly stuck out her tongue at him.

“You like them?”

“I paint.” Her response surprised him.

“You didn’t strike me as…”

“A painter?”

“Well, yes.”

“People always have a way of surprising us.”

Before he could answer, a few men clapped Anto on the shoulder and averted his attention.  RD-53 shifted beside her and the two of them lowered their heads.

“Our main goal here is to identify that artifact.  Anto seems blindly fond of me and I can use that to my advantage.”  They both glanced over their shoulders quickly.

“ _Once we’ve identified it, what should we do?”_

“These sales never end with the object in question directly transferring hands.  There’s always some middle area where a pick-up happens.  If we, or maybe I, can separate it after the sale then we may be able to leave here without issue.”

“ _What if we are required to snatch it from this very room and take off?”_

“In his message, father stated he set up a team to assist me if the situation proved deadly.  He called them the something of Ren.  Knights of Ren?  I think?”

“ _How are we to contact them?”_

Maeve tapped a button on her jacket.

“Echo?”  Maeve turned.

Anto approached and he held out his hand.  She took it and he led her to the group of chairs.  Four rows of five faced a small, raised stage.  The chairs were filling up, and Anto placed her at the end of the front row, closest to the right side.  Maeve listened intently as item after item came out including paintings, statues, slaves, and property.  Nothing stood out to her that would ‘emit pure Force energy’ and doubt began to form at the back of her mind.  An hour had passed, and still nothing. 

After a plot of mining property sold, Anto moved to the front of the stage.  A hushed whisper fell over the crowd and Maeve silently hoped that maybe this would be it.

“We’ve wrapped up the sales, but I have one more thing to show you.”  Anto rubbed his hands together and the group grew quiet.

“I’m pleased to inform you of a rare find that fell into my lap not too long ago.  At first, I didn’t know what it was and it sat in a pile of junk until a close friend stumbled upon it.  He advised me that what I possessed was truly invaluable.  A price cannot be put on such a thing.  But here we are.  I think someone in this room can put a price on what I have to offer.”

A slave girl walked out to the front of the stage and Anto jumped down to meet her.  A pedestal was brought out and placed before the group.  Buyers in the back rows stood or came around the sides to get a closer look.  The slave girl held a black satin pillow and something glistened in the light, but Anto’s form obscured it.  He picked whatever it was up, turned around, and placed the pyramid-shaped object onto the pedestal.  Maeve’s eyes widened.

A Sith holocron.

How had a gangster like Anto Andjar come upon a Sith holocron?  Maeve couldn’t believe it.  An artifact that would “emit pure Force energy”.  She almost guffawed at the fact that Snoke hadn’t outright told her that her mission was to locate the sale of a holocron.  The only way out of this would require an immense distraction, and her father clearly planned ahead.  She nudged RD and the droid glanced down at her.  She tapped the button and then pressed it down, the top clicking inwards without a sound.  She held it for a few seconds then did it again.  She did it a third time.  She called for help three times.  One time would have been sufficient, but Maeve needed the diversion now.

The crowd pressed in and whispered.  Their noise grew to an uncontrolled racket before Anto yelled at them to shut up.

“Who would like to start the bidding?”  No one answered.  Anto waited a beat longer.

“How do you know that’s really what you think it is?”  Anto jerked his head toward the sound of Maeve’s voice.  A frown spread across his face.  Clearly he did not believe that his sweet Echo would question him.  But this wasn’t Echo asking.  This was Maeve.

“Let us touch it.”  The crowed mumbled their agreement.  A blonde haired human male walked up and snatched it right off the pedestal.

“I don’t feel nothing.”  A second human male approached and took it, but before he could take a good look at it, a Nikto grabbed it and on it went.  The holocron passed from hand to hand as the buyers grumbled and fought for who would look at it next.  As the holocron made its way toward them, RD-53 reached out and stole it from a Rodian.  The droid held it out toward her.  The Rodian pushed back but RD smacked him away.

The obsidian colored holocron sparkled like a diamond in the light.  It’s surface smooth and free of blemish.  Silver lettering in the Sith language marked the edges.

_Nuo nuyak woyunoks, Dukra iv Liudesys, prasasian nun_

_For my little one, daughter of sorrow, claim me_

Maeve grasped the holocron and the world stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on Story:  
> *Sith holocrons are devices created by Sith Lords as a way to pass on their knowledge to other dark-side users.  
> *I used several sources to translate the Sith language and ultimately decided on what would best fit. It may not be completely accurate but I did my best.  
> *Although not mentioned in the story, yet, The Knights of Ren consist of eight indivduals plus Kylo Ren. I believe the Knights of Ren created by Abrams consists of only six. I changed this because the more the merrier.
> 
> If you had thoughts (or feelings) leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, and/or share.  
> Leading feedback will better help me create quality content, so please interact with me.  
> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
> Tumblr: https://darthglitterfanfiction.tumblr.com/


	5. Hysteria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Warnings: Explicit language, graphic descriptions of blood and violence.
> 
> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.
> 
> Pronunciation (English Phonetic Spelling):  
> Maeve: [meɪv]  
> Kracov: [krækɒv]  
> Eda: [idə]  
> Crurenus: [krurenus]  
> Cinegard: [sɪngard]  
> Jada: [dʒədə]  
> Icrixus: [ikreəs]  
> Tealp: [tɛlp]  
> Kohva: [kovə]  
> Criedan: [kridɛn]  
> Tezhul: [tɛzul]  
> Irgrith: [ɪrgrɪθ]  
> Dumia: [dumajə]
> 
> If there are any names that you might struggle with please leave a note in the comments and I will add it to this list.
> 
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourage it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

 

"In stillness

Numb to the world

If you feel this

Trapped in my mind

Hope I can find solitude

When connecting all of these piece

I know you need this

I know you need this"

 _Garage Palace_ \- Gorillaz feat. Little Simz

 

* * *

 

The present, and those there to witness it, will always hold the truth.  The present cannot be undone or changed.  It is at it exists.  The future, is uncertain.  The future can be manipulated but never confirmed.  Only the past is absolute.  Events transpired are known, but almost always wrongly so.  The past is malleable and raw.  Anyone can change the past.

That’s what Kylo tried so desperately to achieve.  Change the past.  Change _his_ past.

From the moment of Luke’s betrayal Kylo worked to undo everything.  He burned Luke’s temple, slaughtered all the padawans who would not follow him, and dropped the name of Ben.  When men cowered in fear at his feet, they pleaded with Kylo Ren, not Ben Solo.  Hardly anyone knew his truth, and that’s how he wanted it.

What else could he erase?  The mission to Dumia.  The Necromancer’s followers.  Maybe even Darth Kohva’s holocron.  All that effort and violence for a pyramid of information.  Snoke wanted it.  Kylo never did.  More of those thoughts appeared in Kylo’s head.  The kind where Snoke commanded one thing, and secretly, Kylo disagreed.  The worst happened right after Kylo looked across the destruction of Luke’s temple.  Broken bodies lay haphazardly about, the blood mixing with the pouring rain.  After the rage subsided Kylo wished he could take it all back.  In that moment, the boy named Ben Solo threw his entire life away, and ran straight to Snoke’s outstretched arms like a scared little boy.

Kylo didn’t know if he could ever go back.  Go back to calling himself Ben Solo.

Kylo snapped back to attention at the _hisss_ of the opening ramp.  The spotless steel box, containing Darth Kohva’s holocron, descended from Kylo Ren’s _Upsilon-_ class command shuttle.  Two stormtroopers, one on each side, carried it down the ramp toward the transport cart which Kylo assumed would head straight to Snoke for inspection.  Five figures boarded the ramp just as the stormtroopers stepped off.  Kylo’s gaze crossed over dark, smooth skin that held florescent lavender eyes.  Criedan’s sister, Petra, greeted Kylo before moving to stand beside her brother.  She brought her hand to her shaved head and rubbed it absently.  Kylo couldn’t recall a time when Petra had ever grown her hair out.  Irgrith shifted irritability, her eyes on Petra in a territorial glare.  Irgrith’s jealousy amused Kylo, mostly for the fact that he and Petra had absolutely zero interest in the other.  Petra was fully aware of Irgrith’s misplaced distrust and did little to suppress Igrith’s worries.

Following her were the last four Knights of Ren.  Mors, with his black, almond shaped eyes and fire-red hair, moved swiftly after Petra, giving Kylo a half-hearted bow and grunt.  Aric and Lark appeared behind.  Their equally messy blonde hair whipped up and out of their eyes as they came up from their bow.  Raz brought up the rear, a mischievous grin etched on his tan face.  When it came to blowing things up, Raz was Kylo’s guy.  He could build all kinds of explosives that used Force energy and Kylo often sent Raz out to stir up trouble or go off-grid for grittier affairs.  They shared a nod and the eight Knights fanned out forming a semi-circle around Kylo.

On the return trip from Dumia, Kylo received orders from Snoke to head to the city of Cineguard to help with the extracting of a Sith holocron.  Snoke also included in his notes that he recalled all the Knights out on missions to return to _Supremacy_ immediately.  All they needed to do was head to The First Order base on the outskirts of the city and wait for the signal.  Snoke promised it would come.  They were to kill anyone in their way, except a blonde, gray-eyed young woman and her rose-gold droid.  The First Order had a plethora of undercover spies and assassins, but Kylo knew most of them, and none of them fit the description.  The rose-gold droid confounded him the most because they simply didn’t exist.  The type of metal used was extremely rare and hard to find, with the little of it mined being turned into expensive pieces of jewelry.  Kylo couldn’t imagine the price tag on it.

The _Upsilon_ -class command shuttle’s crew, who remained absent during Kylo’s mission to Dumia, were present for this journey.  Captain Asan Brackwell, a hulk of a man, kept watch at the front of the shuttle, awaiting his orders.  His pine-green eyes observed Kylo under bushy brows that resembled the color of roasted peanuts.  Captain Brackwell’s team sat at their designated stations, facing forward, without so much as a blink, while they waited for their captain.  Everyone waited.  They waited for Kylo.  With a single nod Kylo could command every soul on this vessel to do as he wished.  The power terrified and thrilled him.  He turned toward Captain Brackwell and lifted an eyebrow in silent recognition.

“Let’s move!”  Brackwell’s booming voice carried through the room, starling his team into action.  Fingers moved to turn dials, flip switches, and punch buttons.  Lights of all colors blinked on and off.  Screens expanded and moved into position.  The silent shuttle came alive in a matter of moments. Kylo turned to face his Knights and relay the message Snoke sent.  When The Supreme Leader called, they all obeyed like well-trained dogs.

 

* * *

 

Maeve stood in a beam of sunlight surrounded by a frozen scene.  Bits of dust hung in mid-air, glistening, as she turned her head slightly to observe them.  The object Snoke sent her after rested in her palm innocently and yet everything around her stated otherwise.  The room of prospective buyers for Anto Andjar’s sale appeared lifeless.  She turned in a circle looking for a clue for the sudden halt in time.  She heard no chatter, or ruckus of the market stalls outside.  Noiseless, expect for her breath and the tap of her shoes on the polished marble.  Small beads of nervous sweat appeared along her brow and the back of her neck.  She hardly noticed as they trickled across her skin.  Maeve considered heading toward a window to look outside, but hesitated with the realization that maybe she didn’t want to know.  She glanced down at the holocron, taking a moment to observe it a bit closer.

 

_Nuo nuyak woyunoks, Dukra iv Liudesys, prasasian nun_

_For my little one, daughter of sorrow, claim me_

 

Whoever crafted this holocron did so with the intention of passing it on to single person.  Sith holocrons, like the Jedi counterparts, contained vast amounts of information that the creator wanted to pass on.  All holocrons could be accessed be either dark-side or light-side users, but dark-side users had the advantage.  Dark-side power used in creating a Sith holocron could corrupt even the most powerful Jedi.  Jedi’s kept their holocrons tucked away in the Great Vault, with limited access.  Regardless of Sith or Jedi affiliation, holocrons were immensely valuable.  Maeve wondered about Anto’s dealings and where he would have obtained this.  Did he buy it?  Maybe he stole it.

Maeve’s concerns mounted as the questions piled up.  Nothing about this mission made any goddamn sense.  Her fingers brushed along the surface but she didn’t find a single blemish.  The pyramid retained its smooth, obsidian-colored surface.  Odd, because Sith holocrons usually sported incantations or hieroglyphs, but Maeve found neither.  Just the old Sith language.

A movement of shadow caught her attention and she snapped her head up, her eyes searching for the unwelcomed surprise.  There.  Near the back of the group.  Maeve stepped around the fallen Rodian that RD-53 had smacked away, his eyes wide open, and his mouth glued into a grimace.  Maeve wove her way through the throng of buyers, taking care to not bump into any of them.  For a moment, Maeve lost the shadow.  Maybe it was her imagination or her wanting to believe that something could move in a place so soundless.  But her eyes had not failed her.

A tall, cloaked figure stepped out from behind a column, its head bent low, and a large hood obscuring its face.  Even hunched, Maeve could tell it stood just over six feet fall.  Queasiness teased her in the pit of her stomach and Maeve wasn’t sure if she’d throw up or pass out.  Her body screamed at her to run, to find a weapon, but her feet wouldn’t budge.  The figure, or the holocron, or both, held her in place and Maeve knew escape wasn’t possible.  The figure elongated to its full height, dwarfing everyone in the room.  A pale, white hand came out from the folds of fabric and pulled the hood back.

A male Zabrak observed her carefully from across the round room.  Black tribal tattoos that marked his head and hands contrasted against his skin color which had the appearance of freshly fallen snow.  Maeve counted five black sharpened horns, about two-inches long, starting at the cusp of his forehead and in one single line, ended at the crown of his head.  Two red-rimmed yellow eyes glowed in the shadows.  They reminded her of her own.  She instinctively brought her hand toward her odd colored eye and gently placed her fingers on her cheek bone.  Maeve snatched her hand away in embarrassment.  The Zabrak appeared unfazed by her movements.  Stone-like.  Unreadable.

As she gazed into the Zabrak’s eyes, something within her clicked, like a door opening, but what lay behind the door stayed hidden.  She knew this Zabrak, from somewhere, and Maeve reached for the memory, or even a name.  But she could not find it.  Her mind raced through the endless amounts of information stored within her brain. Not one triggered.  Maeve always recalled every piece of information she had committed to memory, and it pained her to know that this one escaped her.  If she could have cried out in frustration she would have, but a pressure held her in place.  There was no need for her to guess at the source.  The Zabrak glided across the floor like mist, moving toward her like a spirit, until they came face to face. She felt small as the two of them looked at each other, her looking upwards, and him looking down.

The Zabrak brought his hand up and brushed her hair back, his nails lightly trailing along her temple.  The connection sent a rush of power through her and her soul latched on without protest.  Tingles shot up along her spine, rushing toward her head.  Her body relaxed as if every muscle loosened and the tingles smoothed themselves out into blissful contentment.  Her soul and the power became one like it was the most natural thing in the world.  The holocron warmed in her hand, but it wasn’t hot.  The warmth was comforting, like holding freshly baked bread or a laundered blanket.  A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and Maeve could see a row of pointed teeth.  Yet the smile wasn’t threatening.  The connection of their bodies, and the power coursing through her blood, only heightened the familiarity she felt toward him. His touch reminded her of all the physical affection she missed out on as a parentless child.  Eda provided the only source of comfort in Maeve’s life and his touch screamed safety.  Wetness formed at the edges of her eyes.  An overwhelming feeling of wanting to connect overcame her and the tears began to fall.  The salt stung her cheeks.

“I know you.”  Her voice came out a murmur.

The Zabrak nodded his head slightly.  He bent forward and tenderly kissed her forehead, before pulling away, and placing his forehead against her own.  Maeve closed her eyes in hopes of containing her tears.

“Soon.” He whispered.  “Soon.”

Thunder roared overhead, followed by a sucking sound, and then the silence cut away to the noise of reality.  Maeve opened her eyes and found everyone staring at her.  Some stared in shock, others in fear, but many in anger.  Maeve turned around to face the stage and realized they were all glaring at her because she’d gone from one side of the room to the other.  What seemed like minutes to her was a mere second for them.  In the time it took them to blink, Maeve had moved at an impossible speed.  Deep frowns passed on a few of their faces, and many narrowed their eyes in suspicion.  Even Anto’s face darkened.    It took him no more than a few large strides to cross the stage.

“Echo.”

Anto crossed his arms and glared down at her.  Maeve tightened her grip around the holocron and glared right back at him in open defiance.  His eyes narrowed and a deep frown formed on his face.  Anto believed Echo wouldn’t disobey and he was right.  Echo Fairfall would never dare to threaten the crime lord Anto Andjar, but Echo was never real.  Maeve hid behind the name.  Everything up to this point, in Maeve’s eyes, was a game.  She analyzed her opponents, moved her piece on her turn, and all the while knew not one of them could see the game coming to a close.  The holocron was hers and The First Order were on their way.  She only had to stall a little longer.

“I don’t feel anything.  It’s just a piece of junk.”

“Then why don’t you put it back on the pedestal.”

Maeve eyed the holocron.  The lights twinkled against the shine of the black crystal, and she thought she caught a flash of red.

“You’ve sold a great many things today Anto, but I think your friend led you astray.”  Maeve tightened her grip around it again and glanced around the room at the buyers.

“A Sith holocron radiates immense power.  Anyone in proximity to it would feel that power.  Holding it, in your bare hand, would almost be intolerable.”  Maeve tossed the holocron high into the air.  The crowd gasped as it came down, and she caught it, without looking.

Maeve angrily jabbed her finger in Anto’s direction.

“It’s also worthless in the hands of a Non-Force user.  They don’t just open up and spill their secrets.”

Maeve whirled on the crowd and they all took a step back from her glare.

“Are any of you strong with The Force?  Do any of you possess the ability to unlock it?”

No one stirred.

“Line up.  I’m waiting.”

The blonde haired, blue-eyed thug from earlier, who had first grabbed the holocron, approached her.  He kept his distance a bit, but Maeve could see a darkness in his eyes, and the twitching of his fingers near his jacket’s pocket.  She caught RD-53 shifting little by little around the outside of the crowd.  No one seemed to notice the droid.  Maeve held all the attention, and she just needed to hold it a little longer.

“I think the lady might need some help putting it back.” 

He started toward her, completely unaware that Maeve could take him out in a matter of seconds, if she absolutely had to.  It didn’t come to that though.

A stifling hot pressure filled the room.  It seemed to coat everything around it like moisture on a glass surface.  The blonde brute came up short in a startled squeal.  He thrashed around, fighting something only he could see, before tumbling to the ground.  He cradled his right arm against his body and a moan wafted up from his form.  His blue eyes were full of pain and horror.  When he looked up at her from his pathetic position on the floor, Maeve saw violent intent. 

Something flashed off to the man’s left.  A knife.  Maeve’s eyes jumped around calculating her odds.  A few more of the buyers unsheathed long, polished blades while the rest backed up and away.  An older gentleman toppled over a chair in a panic, taking another man down with him.

How long could she hold them off before The Knights of Ren showed up?  Maeve thought back to the button on her jacket and she pressed it a fourth time for good measure. 

“Put those weapons away.”  Anto ordered, his nasally voice coming out cold and harsh. 

Maeve, and many of the buyers, flinched at the sound of his voice.  The greasy-haired blonde didn’t even blink.  He glowered at her, teeth bared.  A serrated-steel blade emerged from the folds of his jacket.  Panic set nt.  Self-defense couldn’t help her in a situation where everyone wanting to kill her was armed.  RD-53 carried her blasters, but the droid wouldn’t make it to her in time, even if it hurried.

He got up from the floor, and the other armed individuals puffed themselves up with an air of authority.  Greaseball took a step forward.  Then another.  With a snarl, the man lunged.  He never made it.  Thunder boomed overhead for the second time and a flash of light filled the room.  Agonized screams erupted, but now they came from everywhere.

The flash of light came from the holocron, and as it disappeared, Maeve could see black and purple lightening coming from the apex of the pyramid.  It branched out and consumed every person in the room.  Except her.  Within the glow of the lightening, she could see flashes of skeletons and melting flesh.  One of the armed buyers fell a couple steps from her.  Half his face melted away within seconds, his eye popping out of the socket.  She watched it bounce along the polished marble, the optic nerve still attached and flopping about.  It came to a stop at her feet; the enlarged black pupil facing up. 

Maeve stumbled back and nearly fell.  A Toydarian took flight but a coil of black lightening zipped out and consumed it.  It exploded, sending bits of flesh and blood among the crowd.  One of its tusks whizzed by Maeve’s head, nearly clipping her right ear.  The agonized cries became deafening.  They pounded in her head like a sub turned up too high.  She screamed until she could only hear herself.

Somewhere overhead Maeve heard another thunder clap.  The black and purple lightening shattered into millions of pieces and floated away like dust.  There were no more screams.  Only silence.  A shudder raked through her body and Maeve moaned in distress.  Nothing went according to plan, but when did it ever.  Her hands trembled.  The holocron still rested in the palm of her hand, like the vision and the bodies around her had never happened.

With a renewed fury, Maeve heaved the pyramid across the room.  As it flew through the air, it paused, mid-flight, and shot back toward her.  Instinctively, Maeve reached out to catch it.  Still warm.  It was attached to her now, but the rush of power was gone.  She felt no connection, nothing tying her to it, and yet the familiarity she experienced lingered at the tips of her fingers.

Maeve looked out at the dead, almost forty in total.  Anto Andjar’s corpse rested at the edge of the stage.  His upper body hung over the side, arms outstretched, and his eyes rolled back into his head.  Inch by inch Anto’s body slid over the side until it came over completely like a dead fish.  The fresco on the ceiling was spattered with bits of blood and human skin.  As her eyes lingered over the dead, Maeve realized she’d forgotten all about RD-53.  She whirled around frantically trying to find the droid. 

“RD?!?” Maeve cried out into the silence.  She couldn’t find it.  Not only had the holocron killed everyone in the room, but it also took out her beloved droid.  Other than Eda, RD-53 meant the world to her.  Her father gifted it to her on her fourth birthday.  Maeve’s breath quickened to the point where she couldn’t breathe.  Where was her droid?

A twinkle in the corner of her eye caught her attention.  Maeve turned around completely toward the shimmer.  RD-53 stood upright just inside the line separating the sunlight and shadow.  Its arm extended forward, the edge of its rose-gold hand sparkled in the sun.  Maeve cried openly, but stifled them when the droid didn’t move toward her.

“RD?” she whispered.  RD remained still.  Maeve rushed toward her droid but her feet felt like putty.

“Oh god!  RD!”  She clasped RD’s arms and gave it a soft shake.  Nothing.  She shook the droid a bit harder.  Tears began to form in her eyes.  The lightening destroyed everything around her.  The holocron saved her life and it took all the other lives as payment.  Even the artificial ones.

“Oh RD, please.”

The horizontal screen that split RD’s head stayed void of color.  No playful colors for eyes danced there.  Nothing stirred in the screen.  RD’s parts rattled around but that didn’t do anything either.  Maeve placed her forehead against the cool breast-plate and closed her eyes.

RD-53 arrived as any other nanny droid.  Snoke designed RD to Eda’s specifications, which lasted until Maeve turned ten.  At that point, Maeve upgraded, tinkered, and played around with RD’s software so much that the droid hardly resembled its manufactured shell.  She gave RD the ability of independent thought and destroyed the barriers Snoke placed during RD’s inception.  RD was hers, and hers alone.

She felt a _tap tap_ on the top of her head.  Maeve glanced up and looked right into two colorful orbs.  Maeve yelled out in joy, starling RD.  She caught the droid in a tight squeeze before it could pull away.

“ _Mistress Kracov, you’ll blemish my shell doing that.”_

“Oh shut it RD.  Let me have my moment.”

RD-53’s metal arms wrapped themselves around Maeve and the two of them stood there in blissful silence.

A boom sounded in the distance and the room vibrated.  Bits of the ceiling fresco chipped away and fell to the ground.  Maeve and RD released themselves from their embrace and glanced at each other. 

 _“Do you think it’s them?”_  Maeve pushed the button on her coat a total of four times, and a great deal happened soon after.  Maeve hoped it was The Knights of Ren, but she couldn’t know unless she laid eyes on them.  Regardless, they needed a way out, and their only option was the white double doors they entered during the beginning of the sale.  The middle of the ceiling held an ornate glass window, but it was so high up that neither of them would be able to reach it.  The double doors were their only option.  They’d have to fight this one out.

Another boom.  This one a bit closer.  More fresco fell.

RD-53 turned its back on Maeve.  The droids back panel popped open, revealing her two blasters.  As Maeve reached for them, four thugs charged through the double doors.  They stopped when they saw the carnage.  Their eyes bulged, mouths opening slightly in disgust.  One looked over at them and pointed.  Before he could utter a word, RD-53 brought up its right arm, the rose-gold metal pulling back. RD-53’s arm transformed into a blaster rifle three times the size of her own. RD fired off two rounds.  Two smoking holes appeared in the man’s upper body.  He fell forward, connecting with the ground in a sickening crunch.

His three companions rushed to draw their own blasters but RD fired off another round of blasts before a single one had theirs ready.  They collapsed in unison.  Maeve stared in utter shock.  RD-53 didn’t have a violent gear in her body.  Nor did RD have a blaster hiding in its arm.  Or so Maeve thought.

“I never weaponized you.  How-“

 _“All nanny droids come standard with defensive measures.  You never deactivated or changed mine.”_ RD gave a human-like shrug.  “ _There has never been a need to use it until now.”_ Maeve retrieved her blasters and placed the holocron inside.  The panel sealed shut.

“I would have seen it.”

_“No Mistress.  My defensive systems are disguised and integrated in my basic hardware.  Destroying it would destroy my entire system.  You’d have to rebuild me from scratch.”_

“We can talk about this later.” Maeve said, dismissing the conversation with the wave of her hand.

A deafening boom rocked the building to its very foundation.  An entire section of the ceiling collapsed inward.  The ornate window shattered, sending colorful shards of sharpened glass toward the buyers’ corpses.  Most of it landed harmlessly on the floor while other pieces embedded into graying flesh.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”  Maeve muttered.  They headed toward the door but their effort was short lived.  The distinct sound of a First Order TIE fighter jerked Maeve’s head toward the shattered window, but her movements were too slow.

_CRACK!_

The back wall exploded, sending chunks of debris and metal toward Maeve and RD-53.  Maeve collapsed from the wave of the impact, her hands striking the ground, hard.  The blasters snapped from her grip, skidding across the floor, and out of sight.  She cried out in pain but her lungs only breathed in drywall.  She gagged and coughed and gagged again.  RD let out a frantic barrage of beeps but the dust obscured her vision.  It looked like gray snow.

Maeve dragged herself a couple paces.  A sharp sting shot up her forearm and she flinched.  Another dry cough set her body trembling.  Screams came from far away.  Or maybe they were hers and she was too disoriented to realize it.  With one more harrowing cough, Maeve turned herself enough to look back.  Shadowed figures moved within the settling dust cloud.  Maeve pulled herself a few more inches across the marble before the sharp pain shook her body again.  She kept her eyes locked on the hulking figures.

An unnatural breeze pushed the dust cloud away.  A chunk of the collapsed wall shifted and moved into the air above Maeve.  It was coming down on her.  She knew it.  But it didn’t.  It hovered there for a moment and then hurtled, as if thrown, toward the double doors.  It knocked down the other wall, kicking up another cloud of dust that was whisked away easily by some unseen force.

Standing in the crater made by the TIE L-s9.6 laser canon were eight imposing figures.  One stood apart from the others with arms outstretched in the direction of the tossed wall.  It loomed like a monk with its black cloak draped around its combat helmet and armor.  The helmet glistened like polished ebony and silver embellishments marked the mouth and eyes, though neither were visible.  The other seven looked nothing like this one.  Each had a distinct look, a distinct aesthetic, that identified the individual without truly revealing their identity.  It was brilliant really.  They looked like a cohesive team, yet in the heat of battle, they could pick a specific person out without having to search.  They’d know who was who, without having to say a word.  Unity in diversity.

The monk-like warrior brought its hands down and stood still like the other seven.  Distant laser canon fire, explosions, and screams carried themselves to Maeve’s ears but she hardly noticed.  The figures moved.  Just slightly, but enough for Maeve to make out their slightly bent forms, as if in a bow.

A ninth figure emerged from the swirling dust cloud.  It moved across the rubble with purpose and as it came closer, Maeve could see the smaller details.  A smooth, black combat helmet, with a silver inlay around the eyes concealed the face and head.  Thrown over the helmet was a black cowl which wrapped around the armored shoulders and down its back.  Material from the cloth cowl also made up the overtunic, which was held to the body at the waist by a charcoal-colored leather band.  Underneath the overtunic, along the arms and legs, Maeve could see loose-fitting, desert-like garb.  They too were black, as were the boots.

_PSSHHEW_

Maeve started at the sound and crimson bathed the room in a devilish glow.  The ninth figure had ignited a red lightsaber, one that Maeve had never seen before.  Not in all of her research had she ever come across a weapon so terrifying.  Though it glowed red like any other lightsaber, the beam was unstable.  It crackled and spit like wood in a bonfire giving a serrated appearance to it.  With the two smaller energy beams, the lightsaber looked like a sword.

A sword.

The Knights of Ren.

Maeve pushed herself up into a sitting position, her cut hands screaming in protest.  Stormtroopers burst out of the dust cloud in neatly controlled lines.  They fanned out around the Knights of Ren and trudged forward into the building.  Blaster fire cut through the air, in every direction, and the world sprang into motion.

The Knights of Ren surged forward, weapons ready.  Three ignited lightsabers in varies shades of red, two carried large blaster rifles, another two carried staffs that disconnected in the middle and separated, red energy-blades sprouting from them, and one swung an energy-blade ax.  The leader of the group, with its cross-guard lightsaber, headed right for her.  Maeve looked around frantically for her blasters, and having spotted one, lunged toward it.  A strong grip grasped her upper right arm.  Maeve swung around and punched out, connecting with something solid.  The leader grunted in response.  Its gloved hand tightened, yanking her forward.  Maeve connected with its chest, both hands out in front of her to take the impact.

_“Don’t be afraid.”_

The modulated voice came from the helmet.  Though changed, it was deep, and rough.  A man’s voice.  Crimson light from the lightsaber reflected in the silver inlay like splatters of blood.

Don’t be afraid?  How could she not be?  Snoke never mentioned how The Knights of Ren would know not to hurt her.  She expected a diversion.  Enough of one so that her and RD-53 could slip away.  Instead, The First Order blew up half the building and this man came right at her, with his lightsaber drawn.

But he didn’t strike her down.  He didn’t raise it over his head for a killing blow, or split her in two.  It hung loosely to the side, the energy beam facing outwards.

“Turn it off first.”

She flicked her eyes down toward the lightsaber.   The helmet shifted as the man glanced toward it, then back up at her.

“ _Does it frighten you?”_

“Yes.”

_PSSHHEW_

The red, crackling beam retracted and disappeared.  With it gone, the man’s mask seemed less horrifying.  But he left no time for inquiries.  With one quick motion the man scooped her up, bridal style, and carried her from the battle.

“Wait!  My droid!”  The man faltered a step.  A mechanical battle cry rang out and they both turned in the direction of the sound.

RD-53 lumbered out of the dust and smoke.  The droid swung in a great circle, firing from its blaster in a barrage of rage.  Men flew in all directions.

 _“Go!”_   The droid shouted.

They took off.  Maeve wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, clinging to him.  An armed thug, possibly one of Anto’s, stepped out in front of them with his blaster raised.  The thug lurched to the side with a cry like someone had reached out and yanked him.  His blaster fired and went wide, striking rubble.

Another wave of stormtroopers charged past, blasters aimed high.  The man carrying her pressed her face against his chest, and bent low.  Something exploded to their right, but he kept them shielded.  Debris and dust slammed into an invisible wall.

He removed his gloved hand from her face just as they crossed into the street.  TIE fighters whizzed overhead; their laser canons booming every time they fired.  High in the sky, an _Upsilon_ -class command shuttle hovered, it’s wings upright.  Beyond that, out in Crurenus’ atmosphere, a _Mandator_ IV-class Siege Dreadnought filled the sky.  Seeing The First Order brought not comfort to Maeve.

The man carrying her released her legs, setting her down gentle.  A hand remained on her lower back.  He pulled her closer, pressing himself into her small form.  She didn’t pull away or try to fight back.  Instead, Maeve searched the silver inlay around the eyes.  She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she wanted something more.

He brought his free hand up, palm facing outward.  Out of the dust came her blasters.  Maeve caught them with ease.

“Thank you.”  She gave the man a weak smile.  His hand dropped from her back just as RD-53 launched over the rubble.  Without giving it a second thought, Maeve stood on her tiptoes and gave the man a quick peck on the edge of his helmet.  She bolted right after, RD-53 following at her heels.

“Do you still have it?”

“ _Yes Mistress.  It’s safe.”_

Maeve breathed a sigh of relief.  She glanced back as they turned the corner.  The man still stood there with his gloved hand against the spot where she’d kissed him.

 

* * *

 

Icrixus was on fire.  Every street they turned on to was in chaos.  Buildings that once stood tall where now empty shells, some still smoking or on fire.  All of it unnecessary.  But it hardly surprised her.  Snoke believed in demonstrating great power when possible and he always did it on a grand scale.  Even now, a Dreadnought lingered in the sky, observing the carnage below.  It wasn’t _Supremacy,_ but Maeve wouldn’t be surprised if Snoke was watching.

They stayed alert as they maneuvered through the district, keeping out of the middle of the street, and taking cover when necessary.  The process was slow, and Maeve knew their luck would run out eventually.  Maeve hopped onto an overturned stall, surveying the fleeing crowd.  Just across the street, under an awning, a Gamorrean struggled to start up his speeder.  Perfect.

Maeve leaped from stall to stall, moving closer to the oblivious Gamorrean.  Just as the speeder roared to life, Maeve came up behind him.

“HEY!”

Her shout startled him.  The Gamorrean turned right into the barrel of the blaster.  She fired once.  It crumbled.

RD-53 trudged up behind, clearing a path by swinging her mechanical arms, knocking people over.  Maeve holstered both blasters, straddled the seat, and checked the speeder over quickly.  It wasn’t in great shape, but it would have to do.

“Get on.”

RD-53 sat behind her, it’s free arm digging into the side to hold itself in place.  She guided it gently into the street, the crowd surging out of the way.  As they cleared the wall, Maeve revved it, and took off.

The speeder shot into the air, zooming over the tops of the buildings.  From there, she had a better view of the city.  Cinegard burned.  At least the poorer districts did.  That she was sure of.  Several blocks away, a half-built skyscraper exploded, belching out a great plume of black smoke.  Out of the smoke emerged several dozen T-85 X-wings.  They screamed overhead, close enough that Maeve could have reached up and brushed the bottom of the nearest one.  Resistance.  Had to be.  Their numbers hardly matched the scale of The First Order, but when did that ever slow them down.  Another distraction, big enough that Maeve and RD-53 could slip away with little effort.

Something flashed by the front of the speeder, nearly knocking Maeve and RD-53 off course.  She steadied it and looked back.  A group of at least ten Gamorrean on speeders hollered and whooped behind them.  Friends of the Gamorrean she’d shot. She pushed the speeder down into the street below.  Maeve pushed the speeder to its limits; fluctuating the speed and turning corners at impressively tight angles.

RD-53’s upper-half turned and its blaster arm shot off several rounds toward the gang of Gamorreans.  A few found their mark, striking a body or a bike, but many went wide or missed.

“ _You’re going too fast Mistress.  I can’t shoot them.”_

“I’m not slowing down RD.”  Maeve kicked in the thrusters.  The speeder lurched and sputtered before picking up speed.  The Gamorreans were closing in.

“Take the controls RD.”

“ _What?!?”_

“TAKE THE GODDAMN CONTROLS!”

Maeve let go of the handles, unholstered her blasters, and bent under RD-53’s arm to take aim.  RD reluctantly took control.

“ _Mistress, I don’t know how to drive one of these.”_

“Keep your hands on the handles, give it some juice, and just go.”

One of the Gamorrean broke off from the group and sped up.  Maeve picked it off with a couple shots and returned back to aiming at the trailing group.

“ _Mistress…”_

 _“_ JUST FUCKING DRIVE.”

Maeve brought her legs to one side of the speeder.  She wrapped an arm around RD’s waist for support and then she bent forward, nearly hanging off the side.

RD’s driving was erratic and bumpy.  Entirely annoying, but better than nothing.  She took out a few more.  All of them squealed on their way down.  The battle between the X-wings and TIE fighters continued.  Laser canons from both sides whizzed past Maeve, a few struck a Gamorrean.  They were approaching West Tealp, a middle-class area that hardly looked touched.  If the Gamorreans followed them in, the government would surely be there to take them out.

“Head over there!”

“ _Yes, Mistress.”_

As RD-53 and Maeve crossed the district border of West Tealp.  A set of TIE fighters came low and shot the Gamorreans out of the sky.  Maeve faced forward and took the controls from RD.

 

* * *

 

“Nicely done.”

Jada broke out into a huge smile.  All morning her and Eda had worked at her letters and numbers.  Literacy under her master Solomon Bots was forbidden.  In a way, it felt wrong to go against everything she knew as a slave.  Mistress Kracov and Eda treated her like anyone else, and showed more kindness to her than she’d ever known before.  This felt knew, and exciting like eating the summer melon sorbet yesterday.  Jada wanted to try everything, know everything.

They kneeled in front of the coffee table in the living area.  Stacks of books, loose leaf paper, pens, and ink littered the surface.  Under the table were more books and paper.  Their tea had grown cold, but neither seemed to notice.

The door to the flat burst open, banging against the wall.  Eda and Jada jumped.  Maeve stood there with RD-53 peering over her head.  They looked horrible.  Maeve’s blonde wig was askew and caked with dust.  Drops of dried blood marked her face like freckles.  Her black coat had a layer of dirt and the front of her pants were ripped.  RD-53 didn’t look any better.

Eda shot up and ran over to them.

“My god, what happened?”  But Maeve didn’t answer.  Neither did RD.

“Maeve.”  Eda pushed, a bit too harshly,

“Don’t.”  Maeve bit out, nearly a snarl.  Their personal guard came through the door, both looked to be in a panic.

“Lady Kracov – “

“GET OUT!”  Maeve roared.  “GET THE FUCK OUT.”

The guard backed up and Maeve slammed the door without looking to see if they were completely out yet.  She stormed through the living room, throwing off her coat.

“Give to me.”  Maeve held her hand out toward RD.  The droid reached for something behind it’s back and then presented its open palm to her.  A black, pyramid shaped box rested in RD’s palm.  The obsidian glittering in the afternoon sun.  Maeve snatched it up and stormed off into her room, shutting it behind her with a _thwack._

Maeve tossed it onto her bed and headed for the bathroom.  She splashed cold water on her face and scrubbed away the blood and dirt.  Maeve reached for a towel and dried her face.  She looked at herself and almost screamed.

Gone.  Her gray contact was gone.  The red-rimmed yellow eye glowed slightly.  When had it fallen out?  It had to have fallen out during the diversion, but when?  That mattered.  The odd colored eye wasn’t something anyone would shrug off.  It’s noticeable, and odd for a human girl.  To make matters worse, she knew nothing about the sale.  She had no information, no leads.  They were all dead.

Maeve stripped out of her clothes and ran the hottest shower she could stand.  She sat on the tile, knees bent, and arms wrapped around her legs.  She sat there until the water turned cold.

Maeve emerged from her room where RD, Eda, and Jada all waited for her.  She cleaned herself up, changed clothes, and formed a plan.

“I’m going out.”

And that was all she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Knights of Ren:  
> 1\. Kylo Ren/Ben Solo  
> 2\. Tezhul  
> 3\. Criedan  
> 4\. Irgrith  
> 5\. Petra  
> 6\. Mors  
> 7\. Aric  
> 8\. Lark  
> 9\. Raz
> 
> If you had thoughts (or feelings) leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, and/or share.  
> Leading feedback will better help me create quality content, so please interact with me.  
> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
> Tumblr: https://darthglitterfanfiction.tumblr.com/


	6. Persuasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Can I just say I finished this chapter at almost 5am and I literally cannot see straight anymore. "Slow Burn" has been added as a tag.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: Explicit language, brief graphic rape scene, explicit sex scene
> 
> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.
> 
> Pronunciation (English Phonetic Spelling):  
> Maeve: [meɪv]  
> Kracov: [krækɒv]  
> Eda: [idə]  
> Crurenus: [krurenus]  
> Cinegard: [sɪngard]  
> Jada: [dʒədə]  
> Zunga: [zungə]  
> Uti: [juti]  
> Eruta Glade: [erutə]  
> Irgrith: [ɪrgrɪθ]
> 
> If there are any names that you might struggle with please leave a note in the comments and I will add it to this list.  
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourage it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

 

"Take my head and kick it in

Break some bread for all my sins

Say a word, do it soon

It's too quiet in this room

I need noise

I need the buzz of a sub

Need the crack of a whip

Need some blood in the cut"

 _Blood in the Cut_ \- K.Flay

 

* * *

 

Maeve’s plan sucked.  She knew it sucked, but it was the only plan she had.

Snoke’s information proved useless.  The names led to nowhere and the pictures were doctored.  These people never existed.  Two of the three thugs she killed a few days ago weren’t thugs at all, but First Order deserters who resurfaced in public too quickly.  The third one, the one with the name, was the only lick of truth in the whole charade.  It made Maeve’s goddamn blood boil.  She wished she could go back before she slit their throats.  Maybe a few more punches would have revealed something.  If they had some big secret it was too late for her to hear it now.  That information was gone, at least the easy way of obtaining it, but Maeve knew other ways.  She didn’t want to, but what could she do about it?   Maeve couldn’t ask Snoke why he ordered her to Cinegard.  That scenario seemed more daunting than the one she did set out on.

Maeve squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed them with the tips of her fingers.  Only a few hours ago she stood in this exact spot next to Anto Andjar.  The marbled circular room lay in ruins, bodies littered the ground, and a distinct scent of blood and fuel licked the inside of her nose.  A small fire burned in the now trashed garden and only one wall remained upright.  Maeve looked for clues concerning Anto, but her mind slipped into other places.  Mostly, The Knights of Ren.  They surged from the dust and smoke like newborn babes from the womb.  Blackened ash and fiery grit labored and spat out nine terrible beings.  Then there was Him.  The one with the crimson cross-guard lightsaber.  Maeve didn’t realize it at the time, but now standing here in a blown shell of a building, it dawned on her that He came right for her.  Didn’t stop once.  There were too many pieces here.  Too many pieces without enough clues.

She couldn’t even begin to wrap her head around the holocron.  Maeve hadn’t felt right since.  It was familiar, and yet, it wasn’t.  Its essence, its power, clung to her like a thin shawl.  She couldn’t shake the feeling, but it was more than that.  Something within her told her the holocron belonged to her.  It whispered, and she believed it.  Though she left it behind in the hotel loft, Maeve felt her connection to it, like her and the holocron were attached on either end of a string pulled taut.

Yes.  Too many pieces.  Not enough clues.  And she was going to get some fucking clues.

Day quickly turned to dusk; the temperature falling a couple degrees every hour.  Maeve pulled up the hood of her cowl to protect herself from the chill.  After leaving Anto’s selling house, Maeve maneuvered through the southeastern districts with ease, as most of it lay in ruin.  The First Order’s attack hit this area the hardest and what remained were slightly smoldering buildings.  Citizens walked around in a daze, lost with no destination.  Looters moved in the shadows, and Maeve stayed clear of those that might cause her some trouble.  Senseless.  Unnecessary.  Evil.  Though none of the carnage surprised her.  Snoke preached law and order, but what he wanted was power.  Singular, central power as The Supreme Leader.  Maeve helped him, though she acted as if she were independent and freethinking.  It was a lie she told herself often, and that made her feel safe.  Wanted.  Though Maeve wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted from Snoke.  A father figure, but that was childhood fantasy, and Maeve simply kept it going to give herself a sense of purpose.

This mission though was her own.  No Supreme Leader allowed.  The moment Maeve stepped onto pavement, she turned off her Datacom, as it buzzed irritatingly. Eda’s voice came from the speaker, urging her back home.  Snoke sent personal orders for them to return to _Supremacy_.  Maeve told Eda that her father could wait.

So Maeve branched out, starting in the southwest end, moving from bar to bar, looking for prey.  She focused on places where one would find smugglers, slavers, gangsters, and other unsavory individuals.  When she zeroed in on a place, Maeve entered, grabbed a drink at the bar, and combed her way through the crowd.  Storytellers and braggers, the loud ones at least, stood out.  Upon finding them, she’d camp out and listen, not necessarily to them, but to everyone listening.  Some would cheer and agree, others would bicker, or cry foul.  Eventually the truth would reveal itself, even if it was never obvious.  That’s when she’d strike.

Maeve would bat her eyes at the criminal who stood out.  Most would come around and talk her up, buy her a drink, and explain why they knew the real truth.  If they clung on, or wouldn’t let her go, she’d convince them to come outside with her.  Around the corner from the bar, in darkened alleyways, they’d drunkenly kiss her while pawing her at breasts.  She’d tell them how sexy they were and describe the things she wanted them to do to her.  All the while, she’d move her hands across their bodies, feeling for places where they might hide identification, credits, or weapons.  Slicing a man’s throat was easy when their pants were down.

As darkness fell across Cinegard, Maeve entered Eruta Glade, the pleasure district.  The only place in the city where anything went as long as one had the money for it.   After all the bars, and wondering, Maeve learned that Anto Andjar’s main business dealt in sex, slaves, and drugs.  The largest, and most profitable of his establishments, had a home here among the brothels and clubs.  Lights lit up the windows and awnings, creating colorful displays of what awaited inside.  Holographic girls in skimpy clothes stood outside the front of one large brothel.  Customers outside picked out a girl they liked and the doorman, upon receiving cash, whisked them away.  Human girls weren’t the only products on display.  Plenty of establishments featured both sexes of a multitude of different humanoid and sentient species.  Some exclusively catered to those desiring fauna of a particular planet.  Even among all the advertisements, and questionable establishments, the place was clean.  Eruta Glade’s streets were spotless, paved, and free of debris.  Trees, bushes, and flowers were trimmed and healthy.  Money was spent here, and it looked like that money didn’t necessarily just go into cartel pockets.

Maeve wasn’t here for pleasure, though many tried to lure her to their businesses promising anything they thought would entice her.  Her disinterest pushed them off to other potential customers walking by.  A few told her about job openings, but Maeve didn’t know if she should feel flattered or disgusted.  The occasional drunk attempted to harass her, but Maeve easily dispatched them with a glare or a punch to the throat.  Maeve hunted for answers.  Anto couldn’t hide all of his secrets.  The First Order couldn’t hide all their secerts.  Someone would break, and Maeve targeted the weaker end.  Anto’s people would break.  The people Anto ran with looked after themselves above anything else, and Maeve bet that a few wouldn’t mind spilling some secrets.

Fortunately for her, a couple drunks knew where to find Anto’s most profitable establishment.  All of them claimed they knew exactly what lay inside, but each answered differently.  The services didn’t spark her interest, but the customers did.  The only consistency among them was the location, and that was the only thing Maeve needed to go on.

The location of this “pleasure house of dreams”, as they all called it, was in the northern most section.  If you weren’t looking, you’d miss it.  No signs or colorful advertisements marked the business.  A dark alley with a single light above a red door.  Vague, but in a place like Eruta Glade, simple and unassuming wasn’t the norm.  Maeve prowled the streets, backtracking a few times, before coming across the only darkened alleyway she’d seen since entering Eruta Glade.

Yards of cloth, on string, hung overhead and obscured the night sky.  Maeve observed the cloth she could see clearly, each in a different color.  It must be a sight to see in the daytime, the sunlight catching the cloth in a sea of color.  Maeve brushed a few out her path with the back of her hand as she made her way toward the end of the alley.  She could see a small light up ahead and wisps of smoke, but it remained mostly hidden.  As she stepped out from the last of the hanging cloth, the door came into view.  It was red alright.  So red in fact that it gave Maeve a bit of a headache to look at it.  Rust ate away at the corners and a few dents, along with chipped paint, marred the solid steel door.  A warm, yellow light burned right above the frame with just enough energy to light the area.  Off to the left-side of the doorframe, on a solid metal stool, lounged a male Devaronian.  They looked like devils, with red skin and black horns.  This one didn’t look nearly as devilish, with his skin a slightly muted red, almost a murky brown.  He wore brown trousers, a black trench coat, and combat boots.  His legs were crossed, the foot of the top leg bouncing along to a tune he hummed.  A magazine rested in his hands, the cover peppered with the usual outrageous headlines that were more entertainment than actual news.  He inhaled on a roach and exhaled purple smoke.  It smelled like pine and citrus.  Maeve stood there waiting for him to look up, but he kept on humming.  She cleared her throat.

“I know you’re there.”  He flipped a page.

Maeve cleared her throat again.  His purple eyes flicked up.

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

“Is that how you talk to all your customers?”

“You’re not a customer.”  He flipped another page and looked back at his magazine.

“What if I am?”

“You’re not.”  Maeve straightened herself and crossed her arms.

“How do you know that?”  The Devaronian shut the magazine, rolled it up, and tucked it inside his trench coat.

“Because you’re not a member, sweets.”

“Then make me a member.”

The Devaronian guffawed.

“I doubt there’s a cock tucked away in those tight leather pants you’re wearing.” His purple eyes roamed over her body, and a smirk formed on his face.  “Men only.”

Maeve frowned.  She didn’t like being told no, especially by those standing in her way.  So what if she wasn’t a man?  Maybe members brought guests with them who were non-members.  Inside the inner right pocket of her jacket were credit chips, plenty for her to bribe her way in.  The Devaronian’s smirk deepened, like he knew he had her, but Maeve could negotiate.

“I think we could come to an agreement. Don’t you think?”  Maeve pulled the hood of her cowl back and shook out her hair.  The black curls brushed along her shoulders and back, the light above the door catching it.  It shimmered like a cloudless sky full of stars.  The Devaronian’s smirk vanished, replaced by something lustful.

“Give me admittance, and I’ll give you credits.”  The Devaronian smiled wickedly.  Between his lips Maeve caught sight of slightly pointed teeth.  His tongue darted out and extended enough for it to graze the bottom of her chin.  Male Devaronian’s tongues were unnaturally long, and Maeve had never seen one completely extended.

“I want time alone with you.”  His tongue traced the hollow of her neck and Maeve shivered in revulsion.  He took it as an invitation.  “Let me show you what this tongue can do.”

Maeve grabbed hold of his tongue.  It almost slipped from her grasp, but she held fast, the element of surprise on her side.  She yanked back, hard.  The Devaronian yelped and stumbled off the stool, the magazine slipping from his jacket landing open but cover skywards.  The piney roach landed on the ground and snuffed out.  Her quick yank propelled him forward until they came almost face to face.  The lust was gone from his eyes, replaced by fear.

“You will take my credits.  And then you’re going to open that door.”  Maeve hissed into a pointed ear.  She slipped a handful of the credit chips into the Devaronian’s hand at the exact same moment she let go of his tongue.  As he stuffed them into an inside pocket, the red door creaked open.  Maeve stepped around him and headed inside, glancing back to just catch him picking up his magazine, the roach forgotten on the ground.

Maeve stepped into low, luminous light and silence.  A long hallway stretched out before her.  A matching pair of silver doorframes stood tall on either side of the hall.  Plain and polished.  An ordinary black door looked back at her from behind the left doorframe.  Maeve turned to the right where a spiral staircase disappeared upward, obscured by the frame and ceiling.  She chose the black door.  Embedded into the wall to the right of the door was a golden plaque with the number ‘1’ on it.  The first room?  First guest?  Maeve approached it and looked left down another long hallway.  More black doors lined the wall, each with its own plaque and number.  There were no doors on the wall neighboring the alleyway.  She took a chance and tried the doorknob on ‘1’.

Luscious drapes of deep red and gold covered the walls.  Candles lit the room in a seductive glow and incense burned in the back left corner.  On the floor, like a mass of worms, bodies moved together in a languid haze.  Skin lathered in oil and sweat twinkled in the candle light.  Beneath the pale flesh Maeve glanced parts of something blue.  It moved like the bodies and it could only be a Member.  Maeve backed up quickly and shut the door just as a trio of moans and a deep growl emitted from the group.

Without giving it much thought, Maeve went for the next door. It swung outwards.  No beautiful drapes or moans greeted her.  Instead Maeve looked directly into a black void.  Not a dark room where one would only need some light.  No.  This place was an endless void.  It pulled at her body.  It wanted her to step forward and embrace it.  A chill ran up her spine and her hand slipped on the knob.  Maeve’s hands had become sweaty in moments, but she didn’t even feel hot.  The void pulled at her again and Maeve kicked the door shut with her boot.

Uneasiness settled at the bottom of her stomach and developed into a churning sickness.  She returned to the main hallway.  Polished silver archways lined both walls all the way to the end of the hall.  Only a few contained hallways.  The rest were half-rooms with spiral staircases.  Some ascended higher than Maeve could see while others stopped at only a few floors.  The place was a maze.  All this work led her to a place that easily required a couple weeks to search completely.  Maeve almost screamed out in frustration, but resisted.  The last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself.

Maeve continued down the hall checking each entryway to gauge her next course of action.  The rooms with the staircases all had one thing in common: they connected to multiple floors.  Several times she looked up to see someone stepping on from one floor and head up several flights to another.  At the end of the hall was another open entryway with just a single staircase.  She must have made it to the back of the building.  As she stepped in and looked up, she was caught by surprise.  This staircase shot straight up with no way for anyone to get off at different levels.  At the very top, which must have been twenty floors easily, there was a bright light.  And…music?  No.  She could hear a crowd, but it was hardly audible all the way down here.  Maeve took a deep breath and ascended, taking the stairs two at a time.  Halfway up her legs started to burn.  The climb was steep, but she pressed on until she made it to the top, lungs on fire, chest heaving.

The metal landing groaned under her feet.  A Gamorrean crossed into her path blocking the view of the room beyond.  He grunted in her general direction and downed the brewed beverage he held.  He tossed the stein over his left shoulder and pushed passed her to the stairs.  Maeve veered out of the way smashing her body against the wall to avoid him.  The Gamorrean stumbled by and out of sight.  A roar went up from the general direction the Gamorrean came from.  A hoard of people, some rushing, others casually strolling, moved before the opening to the stairway. Another roar went up.  No one in the walking crowd cheered, but Maeve could see something just beyond the group.   Though small, Maeve glimpsed breaks in the crowd.  An auditorium perhaps?  Or maybe an indoor stadium?  A gap opened up, Maeve jumped in, and she let the crowd carry her.  She meandered through the crowd as openings presented themselves.  The crowd thickened toward the center of the room.  Maeve ducked under a raised arm just in time to find herself at the edge of where the cheering came from.

Down below on a raised platform a human woman knelt shackled on all fours.  Her arms and legs were splayed a bit like a deformed star.  Between her legs, rutting away, was a humanoid creature Maeve couldn’t make out.  The crowd cheered him on or jeered.  Maeve glanced around the auditorium with an observing eye.  The crowd consisted of an easy four hundred and that didn’t include all the people roaming along the concourse.   A lit screen on the far wall displayed the woman’s face.  Lines of scrolling text framed the image in a multitude of languages but they all held the same meaning.

Young slave women, of many species, were up for bidding.  The highest bidder raped her first.  Then the second, third, and so on.  This particular slave was on her last bidder.  Number thirty-five.  Maeve paled.  Her stomach rolled and she desperately searched for something to throw up into.  Instead she snagged a tall fluted glass full of a sweet, bubbly beverage.  The waiter didn’t even flinch, but kept on going.  Maeve knocked it back.  It stopped the surge in her stomach, but Maeve couldn’t watch any more.  The young woman down on the platform looked no older than Maeve.  Even from up high, the slave’s brown eyes were glassy and hollow.  This fate reminded Maeve of all the slave girls she refused from Snoke.  Many of them probably ended up in place like this one.

The humanoid creature finished with a loud roar.  The crowd responded in kind.  He pushed himself away from the slave girl with enough force that she cried out.  A slick, semi-hard cock of a greyish tone flopped out from behind the slave and hung between the creature’s legs.  Two men walked out and unchained the girl, whisking her away as well as the soiled blankets on the platform.  Maeve gripped her concealed blaster but didn’t remove it from its holster.  With all these people watching there was no point.  Several _dings_ rang out and the slave girl’s picture on the screen blinked out, replaced by a beautiful Zabrak female.  Her dusty colored skin contrasted against her purple eyes.  Her raven black hair framed her face in loose curls.  Two small horns peeked through the hair on the top of her head.

The two men came back.  One dragged a stained mattress behind him and released it to fall haphazardly on the platform.  The other layered colorful blankets and furs on top.  A _whoop_ went up as the Zabrak emerged.  Her wrists and ankles were bound and covering her mouth was a muzzle.  _I hope she took a bite out of someone_.  They carried her out but even that proved difficult as her entire body wiggled and bucked.  The crowd’s noise turned into a frenzy with bidders stumbling over each other to make it to the betting stations.  One of the men hauling her out to the platform undid her leg restraints, but before he could tie the leg down, the Zabrak kicked out and knocked him in the mouth.  A burst of blood went up into the air and the crowd screamed.  They loved it.

With the distraction of a new girl to bid on Maeve used the opportunity to blend into the crowd.  She handed off the glass to a slave girl walking by and picked up another of the drinks.  She downed that too and tossed it out into the sitting crowd.  A snarl told her it found a home.

As she observed the auditorium in more detail Maeve noticed boxes above the crowd.  Most of them were ordinary and small with only a handful of people.  Possibly Executive Suites.  Several of the boxes took up chunks of space with people on the balcony and moving around inside.  All exclusive areas that Maeve didn’t possess access too.  Maeve’s eyes roamed along each one until they landed on the one more lavish than the rest.  If Anto owned the place, then he had to have his own box, and she found it.

Not the biggest, and not the best view, but lavish all the same.  The red and gold contrasted against the gray and brown of the auditorium.  There also appeared to be foliage of vines that wrapped around the railing.  Nikto, the Grusk who escorted Maeve and RD, leaned against a golden pillar looking like his usual self.  Irritated and annoyed at everything.  His beady black eyes roamed over the crowd.  A harsh, guttural laugh broke her observation of the Nikto, and her eyes fell on another occupant.

An off-green skinned Hutt with shades of brown lounged in a massive recliner.  His stubby arms rested on his stomach and his yellow reptile-like eyes surveyed the crowd below.  Two Twi’lek slave girls fed the Hutt food from huge golden bowls.  After each bite, the Hutt seemed to shake with joy.  This must be Zunga Uti, the Hutt crime lord Anto was in with.  Maeve moved along the concourse looking for a stairway that would lead her up toward the boxes.  Signs clearly marked the entryways and Maeve bounded toward them.  As she approached the stairs something yanked her back.  A hand covered her mouth and her back slammed up against a cool, hard surface.  Maeve angled herself to break the hold, but as she locked eyes with her assailant, she froze.

_Bone_

Green eyes lined with age searched her own.  His shoulder length hair didn’t brush his shoulder but instead was pulled up into a loose bun.  Nothing on his face revealed possible danger, but Maeve didn’t see friendliness either.

“Hello Echo.”  Maeve caught the faintest whiff of cigar smoke.  He removed his hand from her mouth.  Maeve’s chest heaved from the unwanted surprise.  She said nothing.

“I saw you.”

Saw her?  Saw her where?  Maeve tensed and her eyes darted off toward the crowd.

“I’m sorry.  You’re mistaken.”  Bone shook his head.

“I don’t make mistakes.”  Maeve and Bone scowled but neither made a move to say or do anything.  A _ding ding ding_ sounded.  Roars of applause and frustration rang out.  The bidding was done.

Bone kept his grip on her. Maeve wasn’t going anywhere so she took a leap.

“How do you know I’m Echo?”  With the hand he had used to cover her mouth he tapped just under his left eye.

“I saw you on the street.  Your blonde hair looked funny and a gray eye was gone.  Replaced with that odd one there.”  Bone tapped the spot just under her red-rimmed yellow eye.

“Why’d you lie?”  His voice cracked but not in anger.  He looked sad.  So sad that Maeve knew Bone wasn’t going to harm her.  Another round of _ding ding ding_ fired off and the cheering and jeering began again.

“This is no place for you.  Let me get you outta here.”

Bone offered her his hand.  The only reason Maeve ventured out was to find answers and the biggest opportunity had presented himself.  Anto Andjar’s right hand man with his boyish frown looked down at her with the sadness of a kicked puppy.

Maeve set her small hand inside his large one and squeezed.

 

* * *

 

Maeve swirled the skinny black straw around in her cocktail.  She rested her chin on her hand and listened to the band on stage with indifference.  Bone slouched beside her in the booth and knocked back his third whiskey before signaling for another.  A slave girl wearing a sheer dress and a gold collar brought him another and took off with the empty one.  The band performed an electronic jazzy beat that Maeve didn’t recognize.  Maeve cared little for the group but the other patrons seemed enthralled.  Bone finished the burning brown liquid and signaled for another.  The slave girl brought the rest of the bottle.

“You’ll drink your wallet dry at this rate.” 

Bone smirked and filled his glass.  “I own this place now.”

Maeve bit her lip.  She crossed and uncrossed her legs several times before settling on keeping them crossed.  Bone picked at a spot on the table.

“Why did you lie?”  Bone swirled the liquid around in the glass.

Maeve loathed the question.  Why did she lie?  She lied to protect herself and serve her own selfish desires.  She lied because she believed she should in order to better serve Snoke and The First Order.  She lied for the same reason everyone else does; for themselves and others.  Maeve needed a small, yet convincing lie.

“I don’t trust anyone but myself and my mistress.”

“Oh?  And who would that be?”

“Someone who believes I’m dead.” 

 Bone shrugged.  “Everyone is dead.”

They sat in silence for a bit.  The song came to an end and the crowd erupted into polite applause just as the next song started.  Maeve tossed her black hair behind her shoulder and finished off her drink.  She reached for the whiskey and filled her glass to the top.

“Echo ain’t your real name.”  Bone paused.  ‘What is it?”

Maeve said nothing.  Bone released a low whistle.

“I won’t push ya then.”

Maeve pursued her lips.  “Echo is my name.  I lost the old one.”

“How convenient.”  Bone muttered.  Maeve caught his eyes with a glare.

“And your name isn’t Bone.  But I’m not asking for your real name.”  Bone grunted and tossed back his drink.  Silence.  They turned back toward the band.  Both made sincere efforts to avoid looking at each other.  Maeve broke first.

 “What happened to Anto?”

“You don’t know?” _Yes, I do know._ Maeve shook her head.

“Dead.  Damned First Order blew out the wall facing the alley.  Killed almost everyone.  Surprised anyone survived.”  _I killed him.  The First Order provided a nice cover._

“You take his place?”

Bone arched an eyebrow.  “Looking to dethrone me?”

Maeve snorted.  “Hardly.”

Bone winked.  He downed his glass, slammed it on the table, then reached out with a speed that surprised Maeve and emptied her glass too.

“What the fuck!”  Bone filled her glass back up before he filled his.  Maeve swatted his arm playful and snatched her drink before Bone could take a swig.

“Be serious.”

“Alright.  Alright.”  Bone sat up and adjusted himself in the booth.  He looked directly at her.

“With Anto dead I own most of it.  A few business ventures are co-owned but I ain’t touching any of it.  They can have it for all I care.”

Maeve frowned.  “What about that place in Eruta Glade?”

Bone spat over his shoulder toward the floor.

“Let that shit go quick to the co-owner.  I’ll turn a blind eye from many things, but I won’t have nothing to do with rape.”

Bone downed another drink and grimaced like the drink burned going down wrong.  Maeve guessed it wasn’t that at all.  The glazed, blank expression of the slave girl before the Zabrak wormed its way into Maeve’s train of thought.  She pictured those eyes in every one of the slave girls she had turned away and then fell head first into them.  Her mind raced in attaching those eyes to every woman she ever came into contact with.  Then they replaced her own.

A small shake brought her back to the present.  Bone’s hand rested on her right shoulder in a firm, yet surprisingly gentle grip.  Light concern played on his face with a slightly furrowed brow and the edges of his lips downturned.

“Zunga Uti owns it.”  It came out more of a statement than a question, but Maeve already knew.  The Hutt lounging in his plush recliner, looking down on the spectacle safely from his box.

Bone started at the name.  “Where did you hear that?”  His furrowed brow deepened and his nostrils flared.

Maeve glanced down at her glass.

 “I saw him in the box.  People talk.  Nothing good happens with a Hutt involved.”

“Stay away from that slug.  Hutts are nothing but trouble.”

“That’s a derogatory word to use.”  Bone guffawed at Maeve’s response.

“Hutts are an illness to the galaxy.  They take whatever they can to protect themselves and for their own amusement.  They’d enslave all of us if they could.”

Maeve sat up and leaned her arm on the table.

“Yes, Hutts would enslave everyone if they could.  But so do many others.  And who are you to say they are an illness.  Anto owned slaves.  Now you do.  What makes you better than them?”

Bone waved his hand dismissively.  “Of course.  The Empire wanted to enslave us.  The crime rings.  Shit, even The First Order wants to enslave us.”

Maeve caught herself before she made the mistake.  The First Order didn’t want that.  Yes, they were severe, but they wanted peace.  Snoke told her so.  But Maeve could not say so to Bone.  He continued on without noticing her hesitation.

“I acquired most of Anto’s slaves mere hours ago.  Ya can’t blame me for not taking action yet.”

For a few long seconds, Maeve and Bone glared at each other in locked silence, waiting for the other to make the first move.  Maeve could wait it out.  Bone broke away and glanced over at the band.  Another song started up.  Maeve hardly noticed the applause.

Bone cleared his throat.  “I’ll wager you have slaves.  Does that make you superior to me?”

She did own slaves.  Several.  A dozen at one point in time.  Maeve ran a hand through her hair and collapsed back into the seat.

“They were all gifted to me.  When I refused…their fate wasn’t that far from the girls in Eruta Glade.”  Bone leaned into the back of the booth.  There was no smugness or look of triumph.  Just sadness, maybe grief or loneliness, but nothing that claimed victory.

“Why didn’t you release them?  After you accepted.”

Maeve shook her head.  “It was never that easy.  Believe me, I did release them, but the individual who gifted them to me didn’t like that.  Money wasted I guess.  They caught on.  Rounded a few of them up.  I don’t know where some of them went to.  Now I’m careful.”

Bone nodded like he understood.  He killed another glass.  A third of the bottle remained.

“Anto was born to a slave owned by Zunga.  Zunga used him as a little errand boy as he started to grow.  Kid was a successful little shit.  Better than most of Zunga’s men.  Since Anto was so young, Zunga dotted on him as if he were a Huttling.”  Bone chuckled to himself. 

“Fucking stupid on Zunga’s part.  Anto cheated him good.  Tricked Zunga into giving Anto his freedom.”  Bone knocked back a couple more drinks.

 “Hutts usually don’t forgive.”  Maeve tapped the side of her glass.  “So did they become business partners?  Why does Zunga own something of Anto’s?”

“Anto knew all of Zunga’s secrets.  He was his errand boy.  Anto saw the whole operation.  Knew that shit from every angle.  Zunga knew this, and they came to some sort of compromise.  I couldn’t tell you specifics.  All I know is that Hutts like to show off, but they love lavish gifts more.  Anto gifted Zunga with property, but I don’t know what Zunga gave him.”

Maeve frowned.  From slave, to freeman, to crime lord, to death.  Anto was probably a few years older than she.  A busy life for someone so young.  But she wasn’t really here for Anto.  Maeve was here for the holocron.  Anto gifted Zunga with property, but for what?  The holocron fit the bill for an exchange of goods.  A Hutt scared enough of someone bringing him down would go great things to preserve himself.  Bone didn’t possess the information she needed, but he owned Anto’s property now.  There had to be information somewhere.

She rested her hand on his thigh and gave it a light squeeze.  Bone tensed at the touch and his brow creased.

“I’m tired.”  Maeve mewled.  “Take me somewhere.”

Bone clasped his hand around her throat.  He growled and brought her face to level to his.  Maeve opened her mouth slightly in invitation.  Bone didn’t lean in, but he didn’t pull away.

Maeve brought her hand up to his mouth and brushed his lips with her fingertips.  He shuddered slightly at the touch.

“I don’t want to be here anymore.”  Her voice came out so low that she didn’t think Bone heard her.  Bone’s grip loosened on her throat.

“I can help with that.”

 

* * *

 

Maeve falsely believed logic played a crucial part in this, but really it was her own selfish desires and the alcohol.  Bone did take her away. Away was the second story of the club which housed a private apartment.  Anto owned the apartment, one of many throughout the city, and Bone now had the keys.  In the end, Maeve did it for her own pleasure and some unhinged craving for rebellion.

They just made it inside before Maeve jumped on Bone.  Though clearly full of alcohol, Bone was surprisingly steady on his feet.  He caught her easily, with one arm no less, and hugged her body to his.  Maeve wrapped her legs around his torso loosely.  Her hands ran through his gray locks and her fingernails scratched at his scalp.  With one hand he cradled her buttocks and the other reached out to close the door.

Maeve kissed first, showing intent where there was none.  Her kiss wasn’t soft, but it wasn’t hard and full of need either.  Bone growled low in his throat and kissed back.  The kisses were sloppy and uncoordinated, mostly teeth at first, but they soon adjusted to the other.  Bone’s mouth could envelop her own easily, but he held back enough control so that he didn’t suck her entire face off.  He teased her with light kisses on her swollen lips, her chin, and hollow of her neck.  She opened her mouth and let him in.  She tasted whiskey on his tongue and smelled a familiar musk all men carry.  Bone wanted her, and in a way she wanted him.  Not forever, not even for the night, but perhaps for a few hours.  That she could give.

They didn’t make it to the bedroom.  They collapsed in a heap on the lounge sofa in the entry room.  Bone spread out on his back and placed Maeve gently on top.  She straddled his hips, leaned down, and enveloped his lips into a long, deep kiss.  Where Bone was hard and calloused, Maeve was smooth and soft.  Their hands explored.  Maeve traced every curve of muscle under his lightly tanned skin.  Though easily double her age, Bone’s body sang that of a man in his prime.

His arms wrapped around and held her to him.  His hands touched every inch of her hips and waist.  Bone brought a hand up to cup her right breast, squeezing gently.  Their lips met again and a girlish giggle passed her lips.  Bone smiled against them and brought his other hand up to tease her left breast.  He didn’t grope at them harshly, like most men in a lustful frenzy, but caressed them gently through the fabric of her shirt.  Maeve slapped away his hands and sat up.  She shrugged off her cowl and removed her shirt swiftly.  Bone made a grab for her just as the shirt dropped to the ground.  Maeve screamed playful.

Bone cut her off with a kiss to her lips.  His hands resumed where they left off. His thumbs brushed her nipples and they responded slightly at his touch.  Bone leaned up, bringing Maeve into a slight recline, and supported her with one strong arm while he used the other to massage her breasts.  Bone took his time with each one.  At first, his hand simply glided up and down her torso from her bellybutton to her neck in a languid motion.  The rhythm put Maeve into a soft trance.  Her head fell back and her body succumbed to his large, strong hands.

Bone took in Maeve’s half-naked form, from her small frame to her slightly pink nipples.  He pressed their bodies together tenderly.  Bone’s tongue traced one nipple, his mouth sucking on it slightly until it became erect.  He moved the other until that too was erect.  He toyed with her breasts for a bit, taking his time, enjoying the way her body reacted to him.  Feeling satisfied, he pulled his mouth away from her breasts.  Maeve brought her head up, becoming eye-level with Bone.  She went in for another kiss, but his hand shot up and pressed against her lips.

“Take off your clothes.”  The demand was low, and husky.  Full of dominance and control.  Maeve gritted her teeth but kept her smile.  She kicked her boots off and shimmed out of her leather pants.  Maeve started toward him, but he stopped her with a hand pressed gently against her stomach.  Bone sat up fully and placed both hands on each side of her hips.  He turned her around and pulled her into his lap.  Maeve placed her hands on his spread thighs to support herself.  The hands on her hips massaged the skin there.

Maeve rested the back of her head on Bone’s shoulder.  One hand left her hip and the fingertips glided across the top of her right thigh.  A shiver went through her body at the caress that tickled and pleased her at the same time.  Bone’s fingers traced back up and moved along her inner thigh.  Maeve parted her legs slightly.  Bone clasped her sex with his hand.  Maeve’s entire body tensed with anticipation.

His hand moved slightly.  A finger ran up and down her sex from her opening to her sensitive nub.  It teased her entrance and flicked her clitoris.  A moan escaped her.  Bone cut it off with a deep kiss, her mouth opening, and his tongue exploring the sweetness inside.  In the middle of the kiss, Bone slid a finger into her.  Then another.  He stretched her slightly, but not enough that she’d be ready for him.  Maeve broke away from his kiss.  Bone’s other hand reached for a breast.  He moved his fingers inside her, prepping her sex for him.  With no warning, Bone slipped his fingers out of her.  They glistened with her wetness.  He brought them up to his mouth and licked them clean.  Maeve nearly fainted at the gesture.  Maeve wasn’t dealing with a young man.  Too many sexual experience consisted of them fumbling with her body and cuming after only a few weak thrusts.  Then they’d ask her if she came too.  Bone didn’t fuck like them.  He’d fuck her with confidence and skill.  He’d fuck her like a grown man.

He gripped her chin and looked directly into her eyes.

“I’m gonna return my fingers to your cunt.”  The hand he licked clean enter her, but they didn’t move.

“Fuck my fingers until you come for me.”  Maeve waited a beat but Bone kept his fingers still inside her.  Maeve began to move her hips back and forth.  She adjusted her position a few times before finding one that felt the most comfortable.  Then she took off, nearly bouncing on his fingers.  His thumb rubbed at her clit while her cunt moved up and down his fingers, creating a euphoric sensation that started in her toes and worked its way up to her brain.

Though his fingers inside her were idle, the rest of his body was not.  His teeth bit at her neck, his tongue traced the curve of her ear, and his lips brushed along every inch of skin they could reach.  His one free hand played with her breasts.  Sensations overloaded her and Maeve came with a shuddering cry.  Her nails tore into his thighs.  Bine growled into her hair.  The hand playing with her breasts shot up and grabbed at her throat, chocking her lightly.

Maeve collapsed in a sweaty mess.  Her wetness glistened on her thighs.  Bone caught her and hugged her to him.  If Maeve could talk, she’d thank him for sex that she’d been missing out on.  After that, Maeve had no intention of going back to First Order pilots and stormtroopers who knew more about the enemy than the female body.

Bone shifted his head and a bit of her otherworldly hair fell into her face.  Maeve brushed it away and heaved a great sigh.  Bone chuckled into her neck.  The rumble of it vibrated in her chest.  His hands moved freely across her body.  Maeve went to sit up and Bone swept her up and took off.  In a few great strides, Bone entered the hallway and headed toward the farthest door.  He opened it with a light kick and entered.  The room was dark, but Maeve made out a few outlines like a bed and a dresser.  Bone tossed her down on the bed unceremoniously.

“I ain’t done with you yet.”

His shirt went up and over his head, the moonlight from the window casting a light glow on his body.  His muscles stood out instantly.  When she traced her fingers across them earlier Maeve didn’t stop to think about what they would look like.  His skin hugged them tightly, his abs chiseled and distinct, his arms nothing but power.  While transfixed on his chest, Bone lost the rest of his clothes and jumped into bed.  His body moved with purpose as he leaned over her.  Maeve, now under him, felt suddenly small and defenseless.  What if he tried anything?  Maeve looked around and reached out with an arm to feel for something useful.  She knocked something over causing a loud _crash._ Sounded like glass.  She cursed aloud.

“I’m so sorry about that.”

“I don’t care what you break.  As long as it’s not me.”

Fingers brushed the hair out of her face and Bone’s lips hovered just above her own.  Her tongue darted out and traced his bottom lip.  This time there was no sweet kissing, or soft caresses.  Bone spread her legs and touched her sex.  Upon finding it still wet, he pulled her down the bed until her buttocks hit his thighs.  Satisfied, Bone covered Maeve’s body with his.  His left arm rested above her head to help support his weight, which could easily crush her if he decided to suddenly become dead weight.  His right arm was hooked under her bent knee and draped around her thigh in a solid grip.  In that position, Bone controlled everything, and Maeve hardly cared.

Bone shifted and something poked at her wet entrance.  With a few false starts in the dark, Bone managed to slip in the tip of his hard cock inside her.  Her tight folds encased his engorged cock as he slid more and more of his length inside her.  At first, the tightness was uncomfortable, and her body pushed back.  It lasted a mere second, at Bone pushed the last of his length inside her.  He moaned in pleasure and his fingers on her thigh tightened.  Then he moved.

Bone moved in and out in languid motions, achingly slow.  Too slow for Maeve’s taste.

“Fuck me harder.”  Bone stilled at her words.

“You want that?”

She didn’t even hesitate.  “Yes.”

Bone put his entire weight into the next thrust and Maeve mewled at the pleasure.  Bone threw himself into every thrust that the sheer force would have pushed Maeve across the bed, but Bone’s grip kept her in place.  Her cunt absorbed every inch of cock Bone gave her, and even then it wasn’t enough, and yet it was.  All the other times felt like something was merely poking her life a nuisance.  This filled her, and Maeve wanted more than someone could ever give her.  At every lustful thrust, Maeve choked on every sound coming up her throat, and Bone grunted with both effort and pleasure.

Friction mounted with every roll of Bone’s hips.  Maeve clutched at his back, clawing at him with her nails.  Bone released her leg and pushed himself away from her.  Startled, Maeve thought she’d done something wrong.  But before her mind could race, Bone rolled her on top of him, with her back facing him.  His hands grasped her waist and he slid her down on his cock.  They moaned together.

Maeve started to rock her hips, but stopped when Bone started to bounce her.  This sent new sensations through her body and this time Maeve didn’t choke on her words.  A never ending parade of moans and gasps flowed freely from Maeve’s mouth.  Bone wrapped a fist into her hair and tugged gently.  Maeve lost herself in the moments until her climax chased her.  A spasm rocked her body and she felt nothing but the burning desire in her loins.  Bone hadn’t stopped bouncing her on his cock while she reached her climax.  With every smack of Bone’s pelvis against her reddened ass, her wetness spread and coated not only her backside, but Bone’s shaft and lower body.

Pleasure still stirred in her core, and Bone’s bouncing increased speed.  Bone shot up and wrapped his arms around her like a cocoon.  He slammed himself inside her to the base and shuddered against her.  Something warm filled her and she relaxed into his hold.  They both collapsed back onto the bed in blissful contentment.

 

Bone fell asleep first.  After the sex, Bone cuddled her, which she entertained until his breathing slowed and a snore blew a few wisps of hair across her face.  Maeve shimmied out of his grasps and made for her clothes in the entry room.  She dressed completely, but didn’t move from the middle of the room.  She looked down at the floor and fingered her cowl.  In another life, Maeve probably could find it in her heart to love Bone.  Maybe settle down and have his babies.  But the thought was fleeting and unimportant.  Bone’s powerful body reminded her of Him.  In the dust and debris, He moved with confidence and purpose, much like Bone did when they fucked.

Something about Him stuck with her.  The Knights of Ren were part of The First Order in some way.  Snoke dipped his fingers in many ventures, but The Knights of Ren never came up.  Why?  Maeve couldn’t guess.  She sucked in a breath of air and let it out as she inspected the room.  Simple, clean, and sparse in furniture.  She peered behind the bookcase, looked under the sofa, and opened a few kitchen cabinets finding little of interest.  Maeve wondered into the hallway, opening the first door and finding a bathroom.  The second room opened up into an office.

Maeve grinned wickedly and creeped inside.  File cabinets and bookcases filled to capacity lined the walls.  A map of Cinegard covered the entirety of the wall to her right.  On it were a slew of different markings and lines that Maeve couldn’t begin to decipher.  A desk was pushed into the corner, but looked like it was mainly used for storage.  She picked her way around the room, opening files, books, and shuffling through loose paper.  One file cabinet held just contracts, but they were the standard fair.  She found pages of different schedules, like the changing of security in a number of buildings, as well as one bookcase shelf dedicated to the Port of Cinegard.  Maeve scanned it all quickly and moved on if nothing grabbed at her.

She checked every inch of the wall, tapping and listening for the sound of hollowness.  She searched every smooth surface and nook possible.  At the desk, nothing stood out, and Maeve almost gave up.  She sat on her knees and combed the inside drawer.  Her nails traced the lining of the drawer and then she found it.  Her nails hitched into a groove and Maeve pushed up.  The bottom of the drawer popped open and she reached in.  Her fingers brushed against something hard.  Maeve grasped the object and pulled it out.  A smooth, slightly worn leather bound notebook rested in her hands.  The brown leather faded in a few spots, and the gold clasp on the front didn’t shine in the little light.  Maeve unclasped it, opened up the book, and smiled at the treasure on the page.

A personal journal.  Anto Andjar’s personal journal.  Maeve scanned the pages eagerly.  This find was better than she’d expected but Maeve couldn’t stay and read it.  She closed the journal and tucked it away in her inside coat pocket.  Maeve stepped back into the hall and shut the door silently behind her.  Bone snored from the bedroom.  She slid inside the darkened bedroom and stood above Bone, watching his chest move up and down with every breath.  The corner of her mouth tugged into a soft smile.

“My name is Maeve.”

Bone snored in response.  She turned away and slipped from the apartment and out into the night.

 

The bathwater turned cold long ago but Maeve hardly noticed.  Her knees were pulled up and her arms wrapped around them tightly.  Her head rested against the tops of her knees.  Maeve sat in her cold bathwater in silence.  A few candles burned in the corners of the bath and the skylight glowed lightly with the rising of the sun.  A soft _tap_ sounded at the door.  Maeve responded without lifting her head.

“Come in.”

The bathroom door clicked open and Eda poked her head in.  She surveyed the room before stepping in fully.  Eda wore her usual simple, classic black ensemble and she held a steaming mug in her hand.  She approached the tub and bent down, resting on her knees.  Maeve lowered her eyes toward the water to avoid Eda’s knowing look.  Neither of them said anything.  Through the door that Eda left slightly ajar, RD-53 beeped away to Jada.  Maeve couldn’t hear the conversation, but hearing RD’s familiar mechanical voice calmed her.  Eda’s voice broke the silence.

“I won’t ask you where you’ve been.  But I know.”  Maeve gave her a curious stare then lifted her head up.

“What is that?”

Eda sighed and held it out.

“It doesn’t taste good, but it’ll stop fertilization.”

Maeve almost dropped the cup.

“Better safe than sorry, my dear.  Drink it all.”

Maeve chugged the beverage and wiped her mouth.  It tasted bitter.  She handed the mug back to Eda, who took it, and squeezed her hand gently.

“Come out when you’re ready dear.”

Maeve did come out, eventually.  Her bedroom door was slightly ajar, and Maeve listened to RD, Eda, and Jada talking amongst themselves.  She smiled and shut it softly, sealing off the noise.  Maeve threw on black Kimono-style robe with lace details.  The window in her bedroom featured a nook for her curl up in and the sun was just cresting the horizon.  A sensation tugged at the back of her mind and Maeve turned, expecting a person.  Her eyes fell on the holocron resting on the cover of her bedding.  She reached for it.

It didn’t transport her to stagnant world and she didn’t see the Zabrak from before.  A low hum filled her head and then her body.  She tossed it back on the bed and the humming ceased.  Maeve picked it up again and the humming resumed.  She plopped down into the fluffy pillows of the nook and turned the holocron over and over.  It remained the same every time.  Nothing changing.  Maeve bit her bottom lip and bobbed her foot along to a silent beat.  An idea came to her mind.

Maeve sat up, cross-legged, back straight.  She remained upright but relaxed her muscles.  She cupped the holocron in both hands and concentrated on the humming.  Maeve cleared her mind and listened to the humming.  After a few beats, Maeve opened her eyes…and saw nothing.

She closed her eyes and concentrated entirely on the humming.  Her hands tightened around the holocron, her body tensed, and started to shake.  Her brow broke out in a sweat.  Maeve willed every ounce of energy she had into the effort.  A low, husky voice broke her concentration.

“You’ll hurt yourself doing that.”

Maeve’s eyes snapped open and before her, sitting on the edge of the bed, was the male Zabrak.  He wasn’t wearing the black robes Maeve saw him in earlier the previous day.  Instead he wore a simple black ensemble of desert-like garb with a tunic and slightly billowed pants.  The black tattoos were still jarring against the whiteness of his skin.  Maeve’s mouth opened slightly and the holocron fell from her hands.  An amused grin appeared on his face and he flashed a set of sharpened teeth.  The holocron veered into her line of vision and Maeve glanced at the pyramid floating in the air.  She reached out and grabbed it.

“Who are you?”

“Nice to see you too, daughter.”

 

* * *

 

Kylo Ren found himself in his study, like most nights after the incident on Cinegard.  After returning to _Supremacy,_ Kylo Ren thought of nothing but Maeve.  It was like Snoke was trying to tease him.  Dangling her in front of him but snatching her away before Kylo grabbed hold.  Snoke told him to see a woman to safety, a blonde human with gray eyes and a rose-gold droid.  He found them both, but one was not as they appeared.  As Kylo emerged from the smoke, his eyes landed on the young woman, and he knew instantly.  One eye was gray indeed, but the other glowed yellow.  Kylo could place a set of eyes like that anywhere.  With that, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out that Maeve lay behind the disguise.

The blonde hair looked wrong and lopsided.  Kylo had an urge to yank it off when he arrived to her.  He wished to see those gorgeous tendrils fall across her shoulders and back.  Black and inky like the night sky and yet full of color like a galaxy seen from far away.  Kylo longed to run his fingers through those waves and lose himself in them.

When Kylo realized Maeve lay in the debris and dust, his instincts took over.  Nothing could have stopped his pursuit in securing her safety.  When he approached her, thinking she’d fall into his arms, he was instead greeted by fear and Maeve reaching for her weapons.  That didn’t please Kylo and he had yanked her away and into his body.  The terror in her eyes stilled him in the moment and he knew that Maeve didn’t know who he was.

Kylo was heartbroken over that.  Still, even hiding away in his study, the pain lingered.  Sweeping her up and bringing her to safety, receiving the kiss…that played over in his mind.  Kylo touched the spot on his chin where she had kissed him on his helmet.  Not a true kiss.  No skin.  But Kylo loved it all the same.  Seeing her helpless in the ruined building ignited a possession in him that he hadn’t felt in ages.

He turned on his datapad, and opened up the little video.  Maeve’s small form appeared and danced across the screen of the datapad.  Kylo watched her in an endless loop, forgetting himself and the world around him completely.

“Kylo.”  A small voice alerted him back to another presence with him.  Irgrith lingered in the doorway to his study, a bedsheet wrapped around her naked form.  Kylo hid the datapad, but he couldn’t be sure if Irgrith saw what was dancing across the screen.  He turned it off and tucked it away.  Kylo glided across the floor and wrapped an arm around Irgrith’s shoulders.

“Let’s get you back to bed.”

Kylo curled up with Irgrith on his king-sized bed.  She fell asleep instantly, but Kylo didn’t sleep at all.  He thought about Maeve and what kind of life he envisioned for them.  Snoke had his own ideas, but Kylo had his too.  Maybe he wouldn’t have to live a lie with her.  They could be together without secrets, and hopefully love.  Irgrith stirred next to him and Kylo uncoiled his arm from around her.  He slipped out of bed and back into his study.  He poked his head back out to make sure Irgrith was sound asleep before turning the datapad back on and lost himself to the dancing girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you had thoughts (or feelings) leave a comment, kudos, bookmark, and/or share.  
> Leading feedback will better help me create quality content, so please interact with me.  
> For updates:  
> Snapchat: darth_glitter  
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	7. Hereditary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness rises and light to meet it.  
> Hope is draining from the galaxy as The First Order tightens its hold. The last Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared while both sides search the stars for him. Once Skywalker is extinguished, Supreme Leader Snoke hopes to widen the Sith order and create a new age of dominance. A young woman, caged by Snoke, and created in darkness will help an apprentice find his place in the universe. The Rebellion is working towards a counterstrike to the powerful First Order, but the galaxy is changing. Who will rise to meet it?  
> *Starts pre-Force Awakens and ends post-Last Jedi  
> *Will pull from movie and book canon as well as personal creative freedom  
> *Warnings and rating will change by chapter. Check author's notes for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for coming on this journey with me!  
> All errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation are mine alone. I write and edit all my work.  
> I do not own Star Wars or anything associated with it. This story is from my pure imagination.
> 
> Chapter Warnings: None
> 
>  
> 
> Personal Note: Each chapter will begin with lyrics from a song that I listened to while editing and writing the chapter it is attached to. You do not have to listen to the song but I encourge it. I recommend AUDIO ONLY on all of them.

 

"Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

one eye is taken for an eye

Well don't go 'round tonight

It's bound to take your life

There's a bad moon on the rise"

 _Bad Moon Rising_ \- Creedence Clearwater Revival

 

“You’ve grown up.”

“That happens to people.”

“It’s been so long…I’ve missed you.”

Maeve nervously rubbed her right thumb along the edges of the holocron.  _I’ve missed you._ Maeve pursed her lips.  The corner of her right eye twitched.  Maeve absently rubbed at the spot, willing it to cease.

“Why are you following me?”

The Zabrak’s expression remained unchanged.  Stoic.  Closed off.

“I saw you, and then…you killed all those people.”  Maeve shook her head.  “Ever since I touched that holocron you’ve been stalking me, like a curse.  I don’t want anything to do with you or your holocron.”

“It was never mine.”

Maeve sucked in her lips.  She held the holocron out in front of her and shook it, violently. 

“What do you mean it was never yours?  It is yours.  From the moment I touched it I’ve been able to see you.  It’s yours.”

“It’s not.”  His voice was low, but full of authority.  “It was never mine.  It has always been yours.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not…”

“Shut. Up.”  Maeve hissed venomously.  “You’re not my father and this is not my holocron.”

The Zabrak smirked.  “So who is your father?”

“My father is dead.”

“Ah…but _who_ is your father.”

Maeve remained silent.

“You don’t know who he is.  I’d venture to say Snoke kept a great many things about you secret.”

“And what do you know about Snoke?”

“I know everything you don’t.”

“How convenient.  Are you here to enlighten me?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.  I don’t need to tell you anything.  All the proof I need is right there.”

Maeve glanced down at the holocron.

“None of this makes any sense.”

“Of course it doesn’t.  A part of you is missing, and how can you know the truth when you are not fully yourself.”

Maeve took in a breath and tried to center herself.  There was always something missing, a piece of her that Maeve never could put her finger on.  And how had she filled up what was missing?  She did it by trying to please Snoke, the only father-figure she had in her life.  Every bit of knowledge she accumulated did so because Snoke asked it of her and she could not say no to him.

Maeve chewed on her bottom lip and glanced out the window.  A shuttle took off and turned course toward the galaxy.  As it cleared airspace it winked out of sight and into hyperspace.

“Please…” Her voice cracked.  “Tell me what I’m not understanding.  Give me something to go on.”

The Zabrak shifted on the bed.  Something flashed across his face, but it was gone before Maeve could understand it.  He straightened himself in preparation.

“I am your father, Fury Agress, former apprentice to Snoke.  Your mother is Anha Kracov, former padawan to Luke Skywalker.  You are our daughter, Malice Agress, and that holocron belongs to you.”

Maeve released a bitter, half-hearted laugh.

“My name is Maeve.”

“And so it is.  Your mother called you that.  She didn’t care for the morbid names my kind give their offspring.”

Maeve placed the holocron down on the lush pillows next to her.  The soft fabric brushed against her fingertips.  She shook her head in an attempt to will away his words.

“You think me a fool?”

Fury’s eyes narrowed.  He lurched forward in one smooth movement.

“No child of mine is a fool.”  Fury leaned against the walls with his hands, trapping Maeve inside the window nook.

“Listen to me, Malice.  Your mother and I did not die just so you could please a coward like Snoke.  He is not your destiny.”

Maeve leaned back until she bumped the window.  Fury’s eyes flared red and a warmness mounted in her yellow-eye.  It glowed red against the window.

“These are just words.”  Maeve whispered.  “Where is your proof?”

“My proof rests within that holocron.”

“This?”  Maeve shoved the holocron into Fury’s face causing him to step back.  “This holocron is of your making, which means the information inside it is yours alone.  How can I trust you, Fury?”

“Yes.  It is of my making, but its essence is entirely you.  Your missing piece.”

“You’re Sith.”

“And so is Snoke.  And so are you.”

“No.  The Supreme Leader-“

“The Supreme Leader is a liar.”  Fury spat the word out like an unpleasant bite of food.  “He was my teacher and after me he took another.  Always two. One Master.  One Apprentice.  He is attuned to The Force.  As am I, your mother, and even you.”

“That’s not true.  I’ve never felt The Force.”

“Yes, you have.  You’ve always known The Force.  But I could not let him have it.”

Fury’s face crumpled like he’d just remembered something terrible.  And then a red hot rage ensnared his features.  He grasped the sides of her face and stared into her eyes.

“Destroy him, Malice.  He murdered us.  I watched her die.  I saw her blood on your wailing face.  He smiled at me when he cradled you in his arms.”

Fury gave her head a little shake.

“You must do this.  You must.  I’m sorry I could not.”

Then he abruptly let her go.  Fury straightened and turned away from her.  Maeve, hunkered down in the window nook, trembling, unable to speak.

“The part of me that is you lives inside it.  It’s only waiting for you to accept it.”

The side of his mouth twitched up in a half-smile.

“Call on me when you’re ready.  You’ll know when.”

And with that, Fury disappeared.

 

* * *

 

The three young women giggled in a heap of color.  Luxurious blankets of spellsatin and moon cotton dyed in shades of Imperial Amethyst and Tender Peach cushioned the floor the women kneeled on.  Pillows and cushions made from the fur of the Saffron Possum created a half-circle barrier around them.  The young ladies teasing and poking each other were just as colorful as the room around them. One, with honey-colored hair and round, umber eyes leaned back into the pillows with a contented, absent look on her face.  One, with coffee-colored skin and strawberry hair chopped off at her shoulders.  One, whom Maeve knew as Jada.

Nona, with her honey hair, was gifted to Maeve on her twelfth birthday.  Nona was eight at the time and incredibly shy, but over the years Nona grew into herself.  Lore sat next to Nona and patiently waited as Jada attempted to braid her shoulder-length strawberry hair.  The girls were relaxed and comfortable, oblivious to Maeve just a couple feet away.  Lore flipped through a magazine of some kind while Nona and Jada leaned over her shoulders to look.  Something would be said and the three of them would burst out laughing until none of them could breathe.

Maeve didn’t participate.  She tapped her fingers against her knee and stared aimlessly at the canvas in front of her.  The paints she added to her pallet dried long ago and she didn’t have the energy to replace them.

The events of the past week churned in her mind.  Cinegard.  The Knights of Ren.  Fury most of all.  Upon returning to _Supremacy_ Maeve played dumb when The Supreme Leader asked her if she found anything of importance, specifically an artifact with Dark-side energy.  She entered his vast throne room, greeted The Supreme Leader in her usual manner, and received the question about the artifact’s whereabouts immediately.  No hello.  No ‘are you okay?’.  No ‘did anything happen to you?’.  Nothing.  He drilled her on and on for what felt like hours but Maeve didn’t budge.  She said there was no such thing at the sale, but she signaled for help once her cover was blown.  Maeve did have Anto Andjar’s journal, and that alone seemed to please Snoke until he dismissed her with a pathetic swish of his hand.

Maeve turned her back on Snoke without a farewell.  From then on she simmered.  Simmered with the events, the information, and her entire life.  Fury did not lie to her.  A piece of her was missing.  A gaping hole that she shoveled more and more dirt into but it only seemed to swallow it without filling up.  Hundreds of thoughts swirled around in her head.  Fury could be telling the truth and her whole life was a lie.  Maybe Fury was the liar.  Maybe Fury and Snoke were both liars.

But none of it made much sense to her.  A small part of her still held out hope that Fury told her the truth.  The hum the holocron made happened only when she held it in her palm.  She experimented with a few people like Eda and Jada to see if they felt anything.  They didn’t.  Neither did Nona and Lore which surprised Maeve on the fact that Lore possessed some kind of Force sensitivity that was more a strong intuition than anything.  If the holocron made the hum only when she possessed it, did that mean no one could feel it too?  Maeve hid the holocron in her clothing when she visited Snoke and he didn’t seem to sense anything either.  But he could be bluffing.

Maeve had wanted answers and instead she only found unending questions.

A voice brought her back and she glanced over at the girls.  They stared backed at her expectantly.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t catch that.”

They giggled.

“Are you going to show us your dresses?”

Maeve glanced back at her canvas and dry paints before reluctantly pushing herself up off the ground and over to the group of girls.  She collapsed into them and for the next few hours they did nothing but try on the dresses she brought from Cinegard and discuss the potential arm candy for her upcoming events until they all fell asleep with their bodies intertwined.

 

 

Maeve awoke to find herself in her own bed.  She didn’t remember how she made it and for a moment she felt flustered.  Maeve let out an audible groan before flinging the blankets off her body and half-rolled, half-stumbled out of bed.  She punched in a request for coffee at the Datacom in the wall knowing she’d need it for the hours ahead.

The coffee arrived scorching hot and Maeve hunkered down in her favorite recliner.  The soft, stormy gray of the fabric frayed in places of obvious wear.  The time to toss it long passed but Maeve couldn’t bare parting with it.  When she sat in it she could see out the floor-to-ceiling window in her study _._

Maeve sipped her coffee and twirled the obsidian pyramid three times.  The holocron rested base-side down and the apex pointing right at her.  The hum buzzed in her hand.  Silent to all and deafening to her.  Maeve took another sip of coffee with nothing in mind of how to access the information inside.

Maeve set the mug down and forced herself to turn the holocron over and over again from all sides.  Nothing stood out to her.  Except the humming.  It worked its way up her hand and into her arm.  Nothing in her body resisted.  Not even her brain.  Her emotions felt flat like this growing hum was normal, even expected.

At this point Maeve would have released her hold on it, not wanting to see what happened if the hum overtook her entire body.  This time she didn’t.

It flowed up her arm and into her shoulders where it burst apart like an exploding star.  The hum moved into her spaces and stopped.  It was there, inside her, but refused to venture farther.  It was like the humming consciously decided not to overtake every piece of her.  Maeve remained whole expect for this humming that coexisted within her own existence like it was waiting.  Maeve closed her eyes and concentrated on it, urging to see.

She saw the universe.

The universe leveled her and she experienced all.  Light.  Dark.  A balance.  Life and decay.  And from that decay, new life.  Time.  Space.  Infinite existence.

The Force encompassed her mortal soul and Maeve knew it was right.

Images flashed across her vision of the beginning and potential future until it slammed into her.  Maeve opened her eyes.

Tall, dry grass scratched at her arms.  Two suns hung in the sky.  A bird cried in the distance and another answered its call.  Maeve turned in a circle.  A forest of lush trees with thick trunks waited on her left.  Maeve took a step forward but stopped.

A scream.  Off in the distance.  Maeve hesitated and looked around for a source.  Wisps of white smoke curled in the distance.  She trudged toward the smoke just as another scream split the air.  Maeve picked up the pace, crouching down but moving quickly through the grass.  She exited into a clearing where a two story wooden house stood.  The house leaned a bit to the left, but it showed obvious signs of being unfinished.  Different projects littered the ground and a small garden grew plants Maeve didn’t recognize.  She heard the scream again.

A small child, perhaps three summers in age, charged around the corner of the house screaming not in terror but in pure joy.  The girl bounced ahead and turned frequently to look at her pursuer which only caused her to stumble and slow down.  It didn’t dampen the child’s mood though.  The girl came to a halt and looked back at the corner, waiting.  Maeve waited too.  Maeve and the girl jumped at the same time, right as a male Zabrak leaped out and crouched down in a mock show of aggression.  The girl took off but she couldn’t match his speed.  In a few steps he scooped the girl up and planted kisses all over her face.  The girl shrieked and giggled.

“Da!”

Maeve snapped to attention.  The Zabrak turned around and stood fully in Maeve direction.  There was no question who she saw.

Fury Agress cradled a small girl with a mass of black hair that moved with an unnatural alienness.  As the girl’s hair swished back and forth, the sun reflected the galaxy in shades of shimmering blue and purple.  Only one other person had that hair.  Maeve.

The girl shifted her weight in order to plant a sloppy kiss on Fury’s cheek before turning into a puddle of hysterical laughter.  Fury made a face of amused disgust and turned back toward the house.  Maeve moved to follow but came to a halt when the girl ceased her laughing and looked straight at Maeve.

It was her.  Everything was there.  The hair, skin, and the eyes.  One stormy gray.  The other red-rimmed yellow.  Maeve noticed two bumps at the hairline on either side.  They clearly indicated the first signs of Zabrak horn growth.  Maeve reached up to her hair line and felt nothing, expect that same empty hole.

The world around her blurred and Maeve flowed through The Force like water moving in a tumultuous river.  She landed on her feet in a place of spinning stars.  Before her hovered the obsidian holocron.   The humming called to her, whispering for her to touch she.  She did.

At the moment flesh touched the cool pyramid it broke apart into millions of piece and inside something glowed.  Maeve reached out with unknown expectation.  Her fingers brushed the glow and it disappeared, revealing a smooth, oval-shaped black crystal.  It did not shine or sparkle nor was it dull or bland.  It was absolute darkness.  The kind of darkness one would find in a cave with no available light source.

Maeve wrapped her hand around the crystal.  It was warm to the touch, like a light electrical current that wouldn’t harm, just surprise.  The hum of The Force flared up inside her.  Her eyes glowed yellow at the contact.  In that moment everything came back to her.  All of the missing pieces of her past fell into place and Maeve grieved.

She collapsed to her knees and sobbed as memory after memory assaulted her with reality.  Though her hands trembled Maeve forced her hands upwards.  She opened them and gazed down at the smooth black object in her palm. 

A Kyber crystal.  Her Kyber crystal.

Malice.  Her missing piece.  Her father’s daughter.  He stole it from her and tucked it away inside the holocron.  Tucked it away to keep it safe.  Tucked it away to a place only she’d find.

All of it was here, waiting for her.  Waiting for her to seize it and make herself whole.

But she didn’t.

Maeve tipped her palms and let the Kyber crystal fall from her hands.  As it fell, The Force slipped away, her eyes reverted, and her body slumped forward. Falling. Falling.

Until she opened her eyes.

And found herself in her worn recliner, coffee still warm, and a knocking at the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back you beautiful readers!  
> So Maeve has access to a black Kyber crystal....(whats gonna happeeeen??!)  
> This chapter is significantly shorter than many of my other chapters and I do apologize for that. However, I am in school so that is my main priority. I wish I could write fanfiction forever and just have that be my job.  
> Again, thank you soooo much.
> 
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**Author's Note:**

> OHMYGOLLYGEE!  
> Thank you for reading that!  
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